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A
Romance of Two Worlds
^ Hobcl.
BY
MARIE COREL LI.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. IL
h.
LONDON :
RICHARD BENTLEY AND SON
^ttblishers in (Drbinnrg to ^cr ^ajcstg tht d^nztn,
1886.
[All Rights Reserved. '\
CONTENTS OF VOL. II,
CHAPTER
I. MY STRANGE DEPARTURE -
II. A MINIATURE CREATION -
III. SECRETS OF THE SUN AND MOON-
IV. SOCIABLE CONVERSE
V. THE ELECTRIC CREED
VL DEATH BY LIGHTNING
VII. A STRUGGLE FOR THE MASTERY -
VIII. CONCLUSION
I
35
66
91
121
156
220
276
ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
^^3g^«
CHAPTER I.
MY STRANGE DEPARTURE.
HE next morning brought me
two letters ; one from Mrs.
Everard, telling me that she
and the Colonel had resolved on comino*
to Paris.
*' All the nice people are going away
from here," she wrote. " Madame Didier
and her husband have started for Naples ;
and, to crown our lonesomeness, Raffaello
Cellini packed up all his traps, and left us
VOL. II. 21
2 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
yesterday morning en i^oute for Rome.
The weather continues to be delicious ;
but as you seem to be getting on so well
in Paris, in spite of the cold there, we
have made up our minds to join you, the
more especially as I want to renovate my
wardrobe. We shall go straight to the
Grand Hotel ; and I am writing to Mrs.
Challoner by this post, asking her to get
us rooms. We are so glad you are feeling
nearly recovered — of course, you must not
leave your physician till you are quite
ready. At any rate, we shall not arrive
till the end of next week."
I began to calculate. During that
strange interview in the chapel, Heliobas
had said that in eight days more I should
be strong enough to undergo the trans-
migration he had promised to effect upon
me. Those eight days were now com-
pleted on this very morning. I was glad
of this ; for I did not care to see Mrs.
Everard or anyone till the experiment
MY STRANGE DEPARTURE. 3
was over. The other letter I received
was from Mrs. Challoner, who asked me
to give an '' Improvisation " at the Grand
Hotel that day fortnight.
When I went down to breakfast, I
mentioned both these letters, and said,
addressing myself to Heliobas :
"Is it not rather a sudden freak of
Raffaello Cellini's to leave Cannes ? We
all thought he was settled for the winter
there. Did you know he was going to
Rome ?''
" Yes," replied Heliobas, as he stirred
his coffee abstractedly. " I knew he was
going there some day this month ; his
presence is required there on business."
" And are you going to give the Im-
provisation this Mrs. Challoner asks you
for ?" inquired Zara.
I glanced at Heliobas. He answered
for me.
'\ I should certainly give it if I were
you," he said quiedy : *' there will be
21— 2
4 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
nothing to prevent your doing so at the
date named."
I was relieved. I had not been
altogether able to divest myself of the
idea that I might possibly never come out
alive from the electric trance to which I
had certainly consented ; and this as-
surance on the part of Heliobas was un-
doubtedly comforting. We were all very
silent that morning ; we all wore grave
and preoccupied expressions. Zara was
very pale, and appeared lost in thought.
Heliobas, too, looked slightly careworn,
as though he had been up all night,
engaged in some brain-exhausting labour.
No mention was made of Prince Tvan ;
we avoided his name by a sort of secret
mutual understanding. When the break-
fast was over, I looked with a fearless
smile at the calm face of Heliobas, which
appeared nobler and more dignified than
ever with that slight touch of sadness upon
it, and said softly :
MY STRANGE DEPARTURE, 5
*' The eight days are accomplished."
He met my gaze fully, with a steady
and serious observation of my features,
and replied :
" My child, I am aware of it. I expect
you in my private room at noon. In the
meantime speak to no one — not even to
Zara ; read no books ; touch no note of
music. The chapel has been prepared for
you ; go there and pray. When you see
a small point of light touch the extreme
edge of the cross upon the altar, it will
be twelve o'clock, and you will then come
to me."
With these words, uttered in a grave
and earnest tone, he left me. A sensation
of sudden awe stole upon me. I looked at
Zara. She laid her finger on her lips and
smiled, enjoining silence ; then drawing my
hand close within her own, she led me to the
door of the chapel. There she took a soft
veil of some white transparent fabric, and
flung it over me, embracing and kissing me
6 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
tenderly as she did so, but uttering no word.
Taking my hand again, she entered the
chapel with me, and accompanied me
through what seemed a blaze of light and
colour to the high altar, before which was
placed a prie-dieu of crimson velvet.
Motioning me to kneel, she kissed me
once more through the filmy veil that
covered me from head to foot ; then turning
noiselessly away she disappeared, and I
heard the heavy oaken door close behind
her. Left alone, I was able to quietly take
note of everything around me. The altar
before which I knelt was ablaze with lighted
candles, and a wealth of the purest white
flowers decorated it, mingling their deli-
cious fragrance with the faintly perceptible
odour of incense. On all sides of the
chapel, in every little niche, and at every
shrine, tapers were burning like fireflies in
a sum;ner twilight. At the foot of the
large crucifix, which occupied a somewhat
shadowy corner, lay a wreath of magnificent
MY STRANGE DEPARTURE.
crimson roses. It would seem cs though
some high festival were about to be cele-
brated, and I gazed around me with a
beating heart, half expecting some invisible
touch to awaken the notes of the organ
and a chorus of spirit-voices to respond
with the "Gloria in excelsis Deo!" But
there was silence — absolute, beautiful,
restful silence. I strove to collect my
thoughts, and turning my eyes towards the
jewelled cross that surmounted the high
altar, I clasped my hands, and began to
wonder how and for what I should pray.
Suddenly the idea struck me that surely it
was selfish to ask Heaven for anything ;
would it not be better to reflect on all that
had already been given to me, and to offer
up thanks ? Scarcely had this thought
entered my mind when a sort of over-
whelming sense of unworthiness came over
me. Had I ever been unhappy ? I won-
dered. If so, why ? I began to count up
my blessings and compare them with my
8 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
misfortunes. Exhausted pleasure-seekers
may be surprised to hear that I proved
the joys of my Hfe to have far exceeded
my sorrows. I found that I had sight,
hearing, youth, sound Hmbs, an apprecia-
tion of the beautiful in art and nature, and
an intense power of enjoyment. For all
these things, Impossible of purchase by
mere wealth, should I not give thanks ?
For every golden ray of sunshine, for
every flower that blooms, for the harmonies
of the wind and sea, for the singing of
birds and the shadows of trees, should I
not — should we not all give thanks ? For
is there any human sorrow so great that
the blessing of mere daylight on the earth
does not far exceed ? We mortals are
spoilt and petted children — the more gifts
we have the more we crave ; and when
we burn or wound ourselves by our own
obstinacy or carelessness, we are ungrate-
fully prone to blame the Supreme Bene-
factor for our own faults. We don black
MY STRANGE DEPARTURE. 9
mourning robes as a sort of sombre protest
against Him for having removed some
special object of our choice and love,
whereas, if we believed in Him and were
grateful to Him, we should wear dazzling
white in sign of rejoicing that our treasure
is safe in the land of perfect joy where wc
ourselves desire to be. Do we suffer from
illness, loss of money, position, or friends,
we rail against Fate — another name for
God — and complain like babes who have
broken their toys ; yet the sun shines on,
the seasons come and go, the lovely
panorama of Nature unrolls itself all for
our benefit, while we murmur and fret and
turn our eyes away in anger.
Thinklno^ of these thino^s and kneeling
before the altar, my heart became filled
with gratitude ; and no petition suggested
itself to me save one, and that was, " Let
me believe and love !" I thought of the
fair, strong, stately figure of Christ, stand-
ing out in the world's history, like a
lo A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
statue of pure white marble against a dark
background ; I mused on the endurance,
patience, forgiveness, and perfect inno-
cence of that most spotless life which
was finished on the cross, and again I
murmured, " Let me believe and love !"
And I became so absorbed in meditation
that the time fied fast, till a sudden sparkle
of flame flashing across the altar-steps
caused me to look up. The jewelled cross
had become a cross of fire. The point of
light I had been told to watch for had not
only touched the extreme edge, but had
crept down among all the precious stones
and lit them up like stars. I afterwards
learned that this effect was produced by
means of a thin electric wire, which, com-
municating with a timepiece constructed
on the same system, illuminated the cross
at sunrise, noon, and sunset. It was time
for me to join Heliobas. I rose gently,
and left the chapel with a quiet and re-
verent step, for I have always thought
MY STRANGE DEPARTURE. n
that to manifest hurry and impatience In
any place set apart for the worship of the
Creator Is to prove yourself one of the
unworthlest things created. Once outside
the door I laid aside my veil, and then,
with a perfectly composed and fearless
mind, went straight to the Electrician's
study. I shall never forget the Intense
quiet of the house that morning. The
very fountain In the hall seemed to splash
In a sort of subdued whisper. I found
Hellobas seated at his table, readlnof.
How my dream came vividly back to me,
as I saw him In that attitude ! I felt that
I knew what he was reading. He looked
up as I entered, and greeted me with a
kindly yet grave smile. I broke silence
abruptly.
" Your book is open," I said, " at a
passage commencing thus : ' The universe
Is upheld solely by the Law of Love. A
majestic, invisible Protectorate governs the
winds, the tides.' Is it not so ?"
12 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
'' It is so," returned Heliobas. *' Are you
acquainted with the book ?"
*' Only through the dream I had of you
at Cannes," I answered. *' I do think
Signor Cellini had some power over me."
"Of course he had in your then weak
state. But now you are as strong as he
is, he could not influence you at all. Let
us be brief in our converse, my child. I
have a few serious things to say to you
before you leave me, on your celestial
journey."
I trembled slightly, but took the chair
he pointed out to me — a large easy-chair
in which one could almost recline and
sleep.
'' Listen," continued Heliobas : ** I told
you, when you first came here, that what-
ever I might do to restore you to
health, you would have it in your power
to repay me amply. You are restored to
health ; will you give me my reward ?"
" I would and will do anything to prove
MY STRANGE DEPARTURE. 13
my gratitude to you," I said earnestly.
" Only tell me how."
''You are aware," he went on, ''of
my theories respecting the Electric Spirit
or Soul In Man. It Is progressive, as
I have told you — It begins as a germ — it
goes on Increasing In power and beauty
for ever, till it is great and pure enough to
enter the last of all worlds — God's world.
But there are sometimes hindrances to
Its progression — obstacles In Its path, which
cause it to recoil and retire a long way
back — so far back occasionally that It
has to commence its journey over again.
Now, by my earnest researches, I am
able to study and watch the progress
of my own Inner fore^ or soul. So far,
all has been well — prayerfully and humbly
I may say I believe all has been well.
But I foresee an approaching shadow — a
difficulty — a danger — which, If It cannot
be repelled or passed In some way»
threatens to violently push back my advanc-
T4 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
ing spiritual nature, so that, with much
^rief and pain, I shall have to re-commence
the work that I had hoped was done.
/ cannot, with all my best effort, discover
wka^ this darkening obstacle is — but you,
yes, yotc " — for I had started up in surprise
— *' you, when you are lifted up high
enough to behold these things, may, being
perfectly unselfish in this research, attain to
the knowledge of it and explain it to me,
when you return. In trying to probe the
secret for myself, it is of course purely
for my own interest ; and nothing clear,
nothing satisfactory can be spiritually
obtained, in which selfishness has ever
so slight a share. You, if indeed I deserve
your gratitude for the aid I have given you
— you will be able to search out the matter
more certainly, being in the position of
one soul working for another. Still, I
cannot compel you to do this for me — 1
only ask, will you ?"
His entreating and anxious tone touched
MY STRANGE DEPARTURE. 15
me keenly ; but I was amazed and per-
plexed, and could not yet realize what
strange thing was going to happen to me.
But whatever occurred I was resolved to
give a ready consent to his request, there-
fore I said firmly :
" I will do my best, I promise you.
Remember that I do not know, I cannot
even guess where I am going, or what
strange sensations will overcome me ; but
if I am permitted to have any recollection
of earth at all, I will try to find out what
you ask."
Heliobas seemed satisfied^ and rising
from his chair, unlocked a heavily bound
iron safe. From this^ he took a glass flask
of a strange, ever-moving, glittering fluid,
the same in appearance as that which
Raffaello Cellini had forbidden me to
drink. He then paused and looked
searchingly at me.
'' Tell me," he said In an authoritative
tone, '' tell me 7u/iy you wish to see what
i6 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
to mortals is unseen ? What motive have
you ? What ulterior plan ?"
I hesitated. Then I gathered my
strength together and answered decisively :
" I desire to know why this world, this
universe exists ; and I also wish to prove,
if possible, the truth and necessity of
religion. And I think I would give my
life, if it were worth anything, to be certain
of the truth of Christianity."
Heliobas gazed in my face with a sort
of half-pity, half-censure.
" You have a daring aim," he said
slowly, " and you are a bold seeker. But
shame, repentance and sorrow await you
where you are going, as well as rapture
and amazement. ' / wottld give my life, if it
zvere worth anything.' That utterance has
saved you — otherwise to soar into an
unexplored wilderness of spheres, weighted
by your own doubts and guided solely
by your own wild desires, would be a
fruitless journey."
MY STRANGE DEPARTURE. 17
I felt abashed as I met his steady
scrutinizing eyes.
*' Surely it is well to wish to know
the reason of things ?" I asked, with some
timidity.
*' The desire of knowledge is a great
virtue, certainly," he replied ; '' it is not
truly felt by one in a thousand. Most
persons are content to live and die, absorbed
in their own petty commonplace affairs,
without troubling themselves as to the
reasons of their existence. Yet it is almost
better, like these, to wallow in blind
ignorance than wantojily to doubt the
Creator because He is unseen, or to put
a self-opiniated construction on His mys-
teries because He chooses to veil them
from our eyes."
'^ I do not doubt !" I exclaimed earnestly,
" I only want to make sure, and then
perhaps I may persuade others."
*' You can never compel faith," said
Heliobas calmly. " You are going to see
VOL. II. 22
i8 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
wonderful things that no tongue or pen
can adequately describe. Well, when you
return to earth again, do you suppose
you can make people believe the story
of your experiences ? Never ! Be thank-
ful if you are the possessor of a secret
joy yourself, and do not attempt to impart
it to others who will only repel and mock
you."
'' Not even to one other ?" I asked
hesitatingly.
A warm kindly smile seemed to illumi-
nate his face, as I put this question.
" Yes, to one other — the other half
of yourself — you may tell all things," he
said. " But now, no more converse. If
you are quite ready, drink this."
He held out to me a small tumbler filled
with the sparkling volatile liquid he
had poured from the flask. For one
moment my courage almost forsook me,
and an icy shiver ran through my veins.
Then I bethought myself of all my boasted
MY STRANGE DEPARTURE. 19
bravery ; was it possible that I should
fail now at this critical moment ? I allowed
myself no more time for reflection, but
took the glass from his hand and drained
its contents to the last drop. It was-
tasteless, but sparkling and warm on
the tongue. Scarcely had I swallowed it^
when a curiously light, dizzy sensation
overcame me, and the figure of Heliobas
standing before me seemed to assume
gigantic proportions. I saw his hands
extend — his eyes, like lamps of electric
flame, burned through and through me-
and like a distant echo, I heard the deep
vibrating tones of his voice uttering the
following words :
''Aziil! Azi^il ! Lift up this light and
daring spirit unto thyself; be its pioneer
upon the path it must pursue ; suffer it to
float untrammelled through the wide and
glorious Continents of Air ; give it form
and force to alight on any of the vast
and beautiful spheres it may desire to
22 — 2
20 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
behold ; and if worthy, permit It to gaze^
if only for a brief interval, upon the supreme
vision of the First and Last of worlds. By
the force thou givest unto me, I free
this soul ; do thou, Azul, quickly receive
it!"
A dense darkness now grew thickly
around me — I lost all power over my
limbs — I felt myself being lifted up
forcibly and rapidly, up, up, Into some
illimitable, terrible space of blackness and
nothingness. I could not think, move, or
cry out — I could only feel that I was rising,
rising, steadily, swiftly, breathlessly . . .
when suddenly a long quivering flash of
radiance, like the fragment of a rainbow,
struck dazzlingly across my sight. Dark-
ness } What had I to do with darkness ?
I knew not the word — I was only con-
scious of light — light exquisitely pure and
brilliant — light through which I stepped as
easily as a bird flies in air. Perfectly
awake to my sensations, I felt somehow
• MY STRANGE DEPARTURE. 21
that there was nothing remarkable in them
— I seemed to be at home in some famiHar
element. Delicate hands held mine — a
face far lovelier than the loveliest face of
woman ever dreamed by poet or painter,
smiled radiantly at me, and I smiled back
again. A voice whispered in strange
musical murmurs, such as I well seemed to
know and comprehend :
" Gaze behind thee ere the picture
fades."
I obeyed, half reluctantly, and saw as a
passing shadow in a glass, or a sort of
blurred miniature painting, the room where
Heliobas stood, watching some strange
imperfect shape, which I seemed faintly to
recognise. It looked like a small cast in
clay, very badly executed, of the shape I at
present wore ; but it was incomplete, as
though the sculptor had given it up as a
failure and gone away, leaving it un-
finished.
'' Did I dwell in that body ?" I mused
22 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
to myself, as I felt the perfection of my
then state of being. " How came I shut
in such a prison ? How poor a form —
how destitute of faculties — how full of
infirmities — how limited in capabilities — •
how narrow in all intelligence — how
ignorant — how mean !"
And I turned for relief to the shining
companion who held me, and obeying an
impulse suddenly imparted, I felt myself
floating higher and higher till the last
limits of the atmosphere surrounding the
Earth were passed, and fields of pure and
cloudless ether extended before us. Here
we met myriads of creatures like ourselves,
all hastening in various directions — all
lovely and radiant as a dream of the
fairies. Some of these beings were quite
tiny and delicate — some of lofty stature
and glorious appearance : their forms were
human, yet so refined, improved, and per-
fected, that they were unlike, while so like
humanity.
MY STRANGE DEPARTURE. 2^
''Askest thou nothing?" whispered the
voice beside me.
" Tell me," I answered, '* what I must
know."
** These spirits that we behold," went on
the voice, *'are the guardians of all the in-
habitants of all the planets. Their labours
are those of love and penitence. Their work
is to draw other souls to God — to attract
them by warnings, by pleading, by praying.
They have all worn the garb of mortality
themselves, and they teach mortals by their
own experience. For these radiant crea-
tures are expiating sins of their own in
thus striving to save others — the oftener
they succeed the nearer they approach to
Heaven. This is what is vaguely under-
stood on your earth as purgatory ; the
sufferings of pure spirits who love and
long for the presence of their Creator, and
who yet are not pure enough to approach
Him. Only by serving and saving others
can they obtain at last their own joy.
24 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
Every act of ingratitude and forgetfulness
and wickedness committed by a mortal,
detains one or another of these patient
workers longer away from Heaven —
imagine then what a weary while many of
them have to wait !"
I rhade no answer, and we floated on.
Higher and higher — higher and higher —
till at last my guide, whom I knew to be
that spirit whom Heliobas had called Azul^
bade me pause. We were floating close
together in what seemed a sea of trans-
lucent light. From this point I could
learn something of the mighty workings of
the Universe. I gazed upon countless
solar systems, that like wheels within
wheels revolved with such rapidity that
they seemed all one wheel. I saw planets
whirl around and around with breathless
swiftness, like glittering balls flung through
the air — burning comets flared fiercely
past like torches of alarm for God's wars
against Evil — a marvellous procession of
MY STRANGE DEPARTURE. 25
indescribable wonders sweeping on for
ever in circles, grand, huge, and immea-
surable. And as I watched the superb
pageant, I was not startled or confused — I
looked upon it as anyone might look on
any quiet landscape scene in what we know
of Nature. I scarcely could perceive the
Earth from whence I had come — so tiny a
speck was it — nothing but a mere pin's
point in the burning whirl of immensities.
I felt, however, perfectly conscious of a
superior force in myself to all these
enormous forces around me — I knew
without needing any explanation that I
was formed of an indestructible essence,
and that were all these stars and systems
suddenly to end in one fell burst of brilliant
horror, / should still exist — I should know
and remember and feel — should be able to
watch the birth of a new Universe, and
take my part in its growth and design.
" Remind me why these wonders exist," I
said, turning to my guide, and speaking in
26 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
those dulcet sounds which were Hke music
and yet Hke speech ; **and why amid them
all the Earth is believed by its inhabitants
to have merited destruction, and yet to
have been found worthy of redemption ?"
*' Thy last question shall be answered
first," replied Azul. '* Seest thou yonder
planet circled with a ring ? It is known
to the dwellers on Earth, of whom when
in clay thou art one, as Saturn. Descend
with me !"
And in a breath of time we floated
downwards and alighted on a broad and
beautiful plain, where flowers of strange
shape and colour grew in profusion. Here
we were met by creatures of lofty stature
and dazzling beauty, human in shape, yet
angelic in countenance. They knelt to us
with reverence and joy, and then passed
on to their toil or pleasure, whichever
invited them, and I looked to Azul for
explanation.
" To these children of the Creator," said
MY STRANGE DEPARTURE. 27
that radiant guide, '' is granted the ability
to see and to converse with the spirits of
the air. They know them and love then\
and implore their protection. In this
planet sickness and old age are unknown,
and death comes as a quiet sleep. The
period of existence is about two hundred
years, according to the Earth's standard of
time ; and the process of decay is no more
unlovely than the gentle withering of
roses. The influence of the electric belt
around their world is a bar to pestilence
and disease, and scatters health with light.
All sciences, arts, and inventions known
on Earth are known here, onlv to greater
perfection. The three important differ-
ences between the inhabitants of this planet
and those who dwell on Earth, are these :
first, they have no rulers in authority,
as each one perfectly governs himself;
second, they do not marry, as the law of
attraction which draws together any two of
opposite sexes, holds them fast in invio-
28 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
lable fidelity ; thirdly, there is no creature
In all the Immensity of this magnificent
sphere who has ever doubted, or whoever
will doubt, the existence of the Creator."
A thrill of fiery shame seemed to dart
through my spiritual being as I heard this,
and I made no answer. Some fairy-like
little creatures, the children of the Saturn-
ites, as I supposed, here came running
towards us and knelt down, reverently
clasping their hands In prayer. They
then gathered flowers and flung them on
that portion of ground where we stood,
and gazed at us fearlessly and lovingly, as
they might have gazed at some rare bird
or butterfly.
Azul signed to me, and we rose while
yet in their sight, and soaring through the
radiance of the Belt, which was like a sun
woven into a circle, we soon left Saturn far
behind us, and alighted on Venus. Here
seas, mountains, forests, lakes, and meadows
were one vast garden, in which the bloom
MY STRANGE DEPARTURE. 29
and verdure of all worlds seemed to find a
home. Here were realized the dreams of
sculptors and painters, in the graceful
forms and exquisite faces of the women,
and the splendid strength and godlike
beauty of the men. A brief glance was
sufficient to show me that the moving
spring of all the civilization of this radiant
planet w-as the love of Nature and Art
united. There were no wars — for there
were no different nations. All the inhabi-
tants were like one vast family ; they
worked for one another, and vied with
each other in paying homage to those of
the loftiest genius among them. They
had one supreme Monarch to whom they
all rendered glad obedience ; and he was a
Poet, ready to sacrifice his throne with joy
as soon as his people should discover a
greater than he. For they all loved
not the artist but the Art ; and selfish-
ness was a vice unknown. Here, none
loved or were wedded save those who had
30 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
spiritual sympathies, and here, too, no
creature existed who did not believe in
and worship the Creator. The same state
of things existed in Jupiter, the planet we
next visited, where everything- was per-
formed by electricity. Here, persons
living hundreds of miles apart could yet
converse together with perfect ease
through an electric medium ; ships
ploughed the seas by electricity ; printing,
an art of which the dwellers on Earth are
so proud, was accomplished by electricity
— in fact, everything in the way of science,
art, and invention known to us was also
known in Jupiter, only to greater perfec-
tion, because tempered and strengthened
by an electric force which never failed.
From Jupiter, Aziil guided me to many
other fair and splendid worlds — yet none
of them were Paradise ; all had some slight
drawback — some physical or spiritual ail-
ment, as it were, which had to be com-
bated with and conquered. All the in-
MY STRANGE DEPARTURE. 31
habitants of each star longed for something
they had not — something better, greater,
and higher — and therefore all had discon-
tent. They could not realize their best
desires in the state of existence they then
were, therefore they all suffered disap-
pointment. They were all compelled to
work in some way or another ; they were
all doomed to die. Yet, unlike the dwellers
on Earth, they did not, because their lives
were more or less constrained and painful,
complain of or deny the goodness of God
— on the contrary, they believed in a
future state which should be as perfect as
their present one was imperfect ; and the
chief aim and object of all their labours
was to become worthy of attaining that
final grand result — Eternal Happiness and
Peace.
*' Readest thou the lesson in these glow-
ing spheres, teeming with life and learn-
ing ?" murmured Aziil to me, as we soared
swiftly on together. *^ Know that not one
32 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
smallest world in all the myriad systems
circling before thee, holds a single human
creature who doubts his Maker. Not
one ! except thine own doomed star !
Behold it yonder — sparkling feebly, like a
faint flame amid sunshine — how poor a
speck it is — how like a scarcely visible
point in all the brilliancy of the ever-
revolving wheel of Life ! Yet there dwell
the dwarfs of clay — the men and women
who pretend to love while they secretly
hate and despise one another. There,
wealth is a god, and the greed of gain a
virtue. There, genius starves, and hero-
ism dies unrewarded. There, faith is
martyred, and unbelief elected sovereign
monarch of the people. There, the sublime,
unreachable mysteries of the Universe
are haggled over by poor finite minds w^ho
cannot call their lives their own. There,
nation wars against nation, creed against
creed, soul against soul. Alas, fated
planet ! how soon shalt thou be extinct,
MY STRANGE DEPARTURE. 35
and thy place shall know thee no
more !"
I gazed earnestly at my radiant guide.
"If that is true," I said, '' why then should
we have a legend that God, in the person of
one called Christ, came to die for so miser-
able and mean a race of beings ?"
Azul answered not, but turned her lumi-
nous eyes upon me with a sort of wide
dazzling wonder. Some strange impelling^
force bore me onward, and before I could
realize it I w^as alone. Alone, in a vast
area of light through which I floated,
serene and conscious of power. A sound
falling from a great height reached me ; it
was first like a grand organ-chord, and
then like a voice, trumpet-clear and far-
echoing.
" Spirit that searchest for the Unseen,"
it said, " because I will not that one atom
of true worth should perish, unto thee shall
be given a vision — unto thee shall be
taught a lesson thou dreamest not of.
VOL. II. 23
34 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
Thou shalt create ; thoic shalt design and
plan ; thou shalt be worshipped, and ihozt
shalt destroy ! Rest therefore in the light
and behold the things that are in the light,
for the time cometh when all that seemeth
clear and visible now shall be but darkness.
And they that love me not shall have no
place of abode In that hour !"
The voice ceased. Awed, yet consoled, I
listened for it again. There was no more
sound. Around me was Illimitable light —
illimitable silence. But a strange scene
unfolded itself swiftly before me — a sort of
shifting dream that was a reality, yet so
wonderfully unreal — a vision that impressed
itself on every portion of my intelligence ;
a kind of spirit-drama In which I was
forced to enact the chief part, and where a
mystery that I had deemed impenetrable
was made perfectly clear and simple of
comprehension.
CHAPTER II.
A MINIATURE CREATION.
N my heaven-uplifted dream, I
thought I saw a circular spa-
cious ^^arden In which all the
lovely landscapes of a superior world ap-
peared to form themselves by swift deo^rees.
The longer I looked at It, the more beau-
tiful It became, and a little star shone
above It like a sun. Trees and flowers
sprang up under my gaze, and all stretched
themselves towards me, as though for pro-
tection. Birds flew about and sang ; some
of them tried to get as near as possible to
the little sun they saw ; and other living
36 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
creatures began to move about In the
shadows of the groves, and on the fresh
green grass. All the wonderful workings
of Nature, as known to us In the world,
took place over again in this garden, which
seemed somehow to belong to me ; and I
watched everything with a certain satisfac-
tion and delight. Then the idea came to
me that the place would be fairer if there
were either men or angels to inhabit it ;
and quick as light a whisper came to me :
" Create !"
And I thought in my dream that by the
mere desire of my being, expressed in
waves of electric warmth that floated down-
wards from me to the earth I possessed,
my garden was suddenly filled with men,
women, and children, each of whom had a
small portion of myself in them, inasmuch
as It was I who made them move and talk
and occupy themselves in all manner of
amusements. Many of them knelt down
A MINIATURE CREATION. 37
to me and prayed, and offered thanks-
givings for having been created ; but some
of them went instead to the Httle star,
which they called a sun, and thanked that,
and prayed to that instead. Then others
went and cut down the trees in the garden,
and dug up stones and built themselves
little cities, where they all dwelt together
like flocks of sheep, and ate and drank and
made merry with the things I had given
them. Then I thought that I increased
their intelligence and quickness of percep-
tion, and by-and-by they grew so proud
that they forgot everything but themselves.
They ceased to remember how they were
created, and they cared no more to offer
praises to their little sun, that through me
gave them light and heat. But because
something of my essence still was in them,
they always instinctively sought to worship
a superior creature to themselves ; and
puzzling themselves in their folly, they
made hideous images of wood and clay,
38 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
unlike anything in heaven or earth, and
offered sacrifices and prayer to these Hfe-
less puppets instead of to me. Then I
turned away my eyes in sorrow and pity,
but never in anger ; for I could not be
wrathful with these children of my own
creation. And when I thus turned away
my eyes, all manner of evil came upon the
once fair scene — pestilence and storm, dis-
ease and vice. A dark shadow stole
between my little world and me — the
shadow of the people's own wickedness.
And as every delicate fibre of my spiritual
being repelled evil by the necessity of the
pure light In which I dwelt serene, I waited
patiently for the mists to clear, so that I
might again behold the beauty of my
garden. Suddenly a soft clamour smote
upon my sense of hearing, and a slender
stream of light, like a connecting ray,
seemed to be flung upwards through the
darkness that hid me from the people I
had created and loved. I knew the sound
A MINIATURE CREATION. 39
— it was the mingled music of the prayers
of children. An infinite pity and pleasure
touched me, my being thrilled with love
and tenderness ; and yielding to these little
ones who asked me for protection, I turned
my eyes again towards the garden I had
designed for fairness and pleasure. But
alas! how changed it had become! No
longer fresh and sweet, the people had
turned it into a wilderness ; they had
divided it into small portions, and in so
doing had divided themselves into separate
companies called nations, all of whom
fought with each other fiercely for their
different little parterres or flower-beds.
Some haggled and talked incessantly over
the mere possession of a stone which they
called a rock ; others busied themselves
in digging a little yellow metal out of the
earth, which, when once obtained, seemed
to make the owners of it mad, for they
straightway forgot everything else. As I
looked, the darkness between me and my
40 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
creation grew denser, and was only pierced
at last by those long wide shafts of radiance
caused by the innocent prayers of those
who still remembered me. And I was
full of regret, for I saw my people wander-
ing hither and thither, restless and dis-
satisfied, perplexed by their own errors,
and caring nothing for the love I bore
them. Then some of them advanced and
began to question why they had been
created, forgetting completely how their
lives had been originally designed by me
for happiness, love and wisdom. Then
they accused me of the existence of evil,
refusing to see that where there is light
there is also darkness, and that darkness is
the rival force of the Universe, whence
Cometh silently the Unnamable Oblivion
of Souls. They could not see, my self-
willed children, that they had of their own
desire sought the darkness and found it ;
and now, because it gloomed above them
like a pall, they refused to believe in the
A MINIATURE CREATION. 41
light where still I was, loving and striving
to attract them still. Yet it was not all
darkness, and I knew that even what there
was might be repelled and cleared away if
only my people would turn towards me
once more. So I sent down upon them
all possible blessings — some they rejected
angrily, some they snatched at and threw
away again, as though they were poor and
trivial — none of them were they thankful
for, and none did they desire to keep. And
the darkness above them deepened, while
my anxious pity for them and love in-
creased. For how could I turn altogether
away from them, as long as but a few
remembered me ? There were some of
these weak children of mine who loved
and honoured me so well that they ab-
sorbed some of my light into themselves,
and became heroes, poets, musicians,
teachers of high and noble thought, and
unselfish, devoted martyrs for the sake of
the reverence they bore me. There were
42 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
women pure and sweet, who wore their
existence as innocently as HHes, and who
turned to me to seek protection, not for
themselves, but for those they loved.
There were little children, whose asking
voices were like waves of delicious music
to my being, and for whom I had a sur-
passing tenderness. And yet these all
were a mere handful compared to the
numbers of those who denied my existence,
and who had wilfully crushed out and
repelled every spark of my essence in
themselves. And as I contemplated all
this, the voice I had heard at the com-
mencement of my dream rushed towards
me like a mighty wind broken through by
thunder :
''Destroy!''
A great pity and love possessed me.
In deep awe, yet solemn earnestness, I
pleaded with that vast commanding voice.
"Bid me not destroy!" I implored.
"Command me not to disperse into
A MINIATURE CREATION. 45
nothingness these children of my fancy,
some of whom yet love and trust to me
for safety. Let me strive once more to
bring them out of their darkness into the
light — to bring them to the happiness
I designed them to enjoy. They have
not all forgotten me — let me give them
more time for thought and recollec-
tion !"
Again the great voice shook the air :
'' They love darkness rather than light ;
they love the perishable earth of which
they are in part composed, better than the
germ of immortality with which they
were in the beginning endowed. This
garden of thine is but a caprice of thy
intelligence ; the creatures that inhabit
it are soulless and unworthy, and are
an offence to that indestructible radiance
of which thou art one ray. Therefore
I say unto thee again — destroy /"
My yearning love grew stronger, and
I pleaded with renewed force.
44 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS,
'' Oh, thou Unseen Glory !" I cried ;
*' thou who hast filled me with this emotion
of love and pity which permeates and
supports my existence, how canst thou
bid me take this sudden revenge upon
my frail creation ! No caprice was it that
caused me to design it ; nothing but a
thought of love and a desire of beauty.
Even yet I will fulfil my plan — even yet
shall these erring children of mine return
to me in time, with patience. While one
of them still lifts a hand in prayer to
me, or gratitude, I cannot destroy ! Bid
me rather sink into the darkness of the
uttermost deep of shadow ; only let me
save these feeble little ones from destruc-
tion !"
The voice replied not. A flashing opal
brilliancy shot across the light in which
1 rested, and I beheld an Angel, grand,
lofty, majestic, with a countenance in
which shone the lustre of a myriad summer
mornings.
A MIXIATURE CREATIOX. 45
" Spirit that art escaped from the
Sorrowful Star/' it said in accents clear and
sonorous, "' wouldst thou indeed be con-
tent to sufter the loss oi heavenly jov and
peace, in order to rescue thy perishing
creation ?"
" I would I" I answered ; *•' if I under-
stood death. I would die to save one
of those frail creatures, who seek to know
me and yet cannot find me through the
darkness they have brought upon them-
selves.
''To die,'' said the Angel, "to under-
stand death, thou wouldst need to become
one of them, to take upon thyself their
form — to imprison all that brilliancy of
which thou art now composed, into a
mean and common case of clay ; and even
if thou couldst accomplish this, would
thy children know thee or receive
thee ?"
" Nay, but if I could suffer shame by
them." I cried impetuously, " I could not
46 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
suffer sin. My being would be incapable
of error, and I would show these creatures
of mine the bliss of purity, the joy of
wisdom, the ecstasy of light, the certainty
of immortality, if they followed me. And
then I would die to show them death
is easy, and that in dying they would
come to me and find their happiness for
•ever.
The stature of the Angel grew more
lofty and magnificent, and its star-like
eyes flashed fire.
" Then, oh thou wanderer from the
Earth !" it said, '^ understandest thou not
the Christ ?"
A deep awe trembled through me.
Meanwhile the garden I had thought
a world appeared to roll up like a cloudy
scroll, and vanished, and I knew that
it had been a vision, and no more.
" Oh doubting and foolish Spirit !" went
on the Anorel — '' thou who art but one
CD
point of living light in the Supreme Radi-
A MINIATURE CREATION. 47
ance, even ^/lozi- wouldst consent to Immure
thyself in the darkness of mortality for
sake of thy fancied creation ! Even ^/tou
wouldst submit to suffer and to die, In
order to show the frail children of thy
dream a purely sinless and spiritual
example ! Even ^/wu hast had the courage
to plead with the One All-Sufficing Voice
against the destruction of what to thee was
but a mirage floating in this ether ! Even
/Aou hast had love, forgiveness, pity !
Even ^/lozi' wouldst be willing to dwell
among the creatures of thy fancy as one
of them, knowing in thy Inner self that
by so doing thy spiritual presence would
have marked thy little world for ever
as sanctified and impossible to destroy.
Even ^/lou wouldst sacrifice a glory to
answer a child's prayer — even thou wouldst
have patience ! And yet thou hast dared
to deny to God those attributes which
thou thyself dost possess — He so grea
and vast — thou so small and slight ! For
48 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
the love thou feelest throbbing through
thy being, He is the very commencement
and perfection of all love ; if thou hast
pity, He has ten thousand times more
pity ; If ^/lo^c■ canst forgive, remember that
from H Im flows all thy power of forgiveness !
There is nothing thou canst do, even at
the highest height of spiritual perfection,
that He cannot surpass by a thousand
million fold ! Neither shalt thou refuse
to believe that He can also suffer. Know
that nothing is more godlike than un-
selfish sorrow — and the grief of the
Creator over one erring human soul is as
vast as He Himself Is vast. Why wouldst
thou make of Him a being destitute of
the best emotions that He Himself bestows
upon thee ? T/ioti wouldst have entered
Into thy dream-world and lived In It
and died In It, if by so doing thou couldst
have drawn one of thy creatures back
to the love of thee ; and wilt thou not
receive the Christ ?"
A MINIATURE CREATION. 49
I bowed my head, and a flood of joy
rushed through me.
"I beHeve — I beHeve and I love!" I
murmured. '' Desert me not, O radiant
Ancrel ! I feel and know that all these
wonders must soon pass away from my
sight ; but wilt thou also go ?"
The Aneel smiled and touched me.
^' I am thy guardian," it said. " I have
been with thee always. I can never leave
thee so long as thy soul seeks spiritual
things. Asleep or awake on the Earth,.
wherever thou art, I also am. There
have been times when I have warned
thee and thou wouldst not listen, when
I have tried to draw thee onward and
thou wouldst not come; but now I
fear no more thy disobedience, for thy
restlessness is past. Come with me ; it
is permitted thee to see far off the vision
of the Last Circle."
The glorious figure raised me gently by
the hand, and we floated on and on, higher
VOL. II. 24
50 A. ROMANCE OF. TWO WORLDS.
and higher, past little circles which my
guide told me were all solar systems,
though they looked nothing but slender
garlands of fire, so rapidly did they revolve
and so swiftly did we pass them. Higher
and higher we went, till even to my
untiring spirit the way seemed long.
Beautiful creatures in human shape, but as
delicate as gossamer, passed us every now
and then, some In bands of twos and
threes, some alone ; and the higher we
soared the more dazzllngly lovely these
inhabitants of the air seemed to be.
** They are all born of the Great Circle,"
my guardian Angel explained to me ;
^' and to them Is given the power of com-
municating high thought or inspiration.
Among them are the Spirits of Music, of
Poesy, of Prophecy, and of all Art ever
known In all worlds. The success of their
teaching depends on how much purity and
unselfishness there Is In the soul to which
they whisper their divine messages —
A MINIATURE CREATION. 51
messages as brief as telegrams which
must be Hstened to with entire attention
and acted upon at once, or the lesson is
lost and may never come again."
Just then, I saw a Shape coming to-
wards me as of a lovely fair-haired child,
who seemed to be playing softly on a
strange glittering instrument like a broken
cloud strung through with sunbeams.
Heedless of consequences, I caught at its
misty robe in a wild effort to detain it. It
obeyed my touch, and turned its deeply
luminous eyes first upon me, and then
upon the Angel who accompanied my
flight.
*' What seekest thou ?" it asked in a
voice like the murmuring of the wind
among flowers.
'' Music !" I answered. " Sing me thy
melodies — fill m.e with harmonies divine
and unreachable — and I will strive to be
worthy of thy teachings."
24 — 2
52 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS,
The young Shape smiled and drew
closer towards me.
'' Thy wish is granted, Sister Spirit !" it
replied. " The pity I shall feel for thy
fate when thou art again pent in clay, shall
be taught thee in minor music — thou
shalt possess the secret of unwritten sound,
and I will sing to thee and bring thee
comfort. On Earth, call but my name —
Aeon ! and thou shalt behold me. For
thy longing voice is known to the Children
of Music, and hath oft shaken the vibrating
light wherein they dwell. Fear not ! As
long as thou dost love me, I am thine."
And parting slowly, still smiling, the
lovely vision, with its small radiant hands
ever wandering among the starry strings of
its cloud-like lyre, floated onward.
Suddenly a clear voice said '' Welcome !"
and looking up I saw my first friend Azul.
I smiled in glad recognition — I would
have spoken — but lo ! a wide immensity of
blazing glory broke like many-coloured
A MINIATURE CREATION. 53
lightning around me — so dazzling, so
overpowering, that I Instinctively drew
back and paused — I felt I could go no
further.
*' Here," said my guardian gently —
*' here ends thy journey. Would that It
were possible, poor Spirit, for thee to pass
this boundary ! But that may not be — as
yet. In the meanwhile thou mayest gaze
for a brief space upon the majestic sphere
which mortals dream of as Heaven.
Behold and see how fair Is the Incorruptible
perfection of God's World !"
I looked and trembled — I should have
sunk yet further backward, had not Azul
and my Angel-guide held me with their
light yet forcible clasp. My heart fails
me now as I try to write of that tremen-
dous, that sublime scene — the Centre of
the Universe — the Cause of all Creation.
How unlike Heaven such as we In our
ignorance have tried to depict ! though it
is far better we should have a mistaken
54 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
idea than none at all. What I beheld was
a Circle, so huge that no mortal measure-
ments could compass it — a wide Ring
composed of seven colours, rainbow-like,
but flashing with perpetual motion and
brilliancy, as though a thousand million
suns were for ever being woven into it to
feed its transcendent lustre. From every
part of this Ring darted long broad shafts
of light, some of which stretched out so far
that I could not see where they ended ;
sometimes a bubbling shower of lightning
sparks would be flung out on the pure
ether, and this would instantly form into
circles, small or great, and whirl round and
round the enormous girdle of flame from
which they had been cast, with the most
Inconceivable rapidity. But wonderful as
the Ring was, it encompassed a Sphere yet
more marvellous and dazzling ; a great
Globe of opal-tinted light, revolving as it
were upon its own axis, and ever sur-
rounded by that scintillating, jewel-like
A MINIATURE CREATION. 55
wreath of electricity, whose only motion
was to shine and burn w^ithin itself for
ever. I could not bear to look upon the
brightness of that magnificent central
World — so large that multiplying the size
of the sun by a hundred thousand millions,
no adequate idea could be formed of its
vast proportions. And ever it revolved — •
and ever the Rainbow Ring around it
glittered and cast forth those other rings
which I knew now were living solar
svstems cast forth from that electric band
as a volcano casts forth fire and lava. My
Angel-guide motioned me to look towards
that side of the Ring which was nearest to
the position of the Earth. I looked, and
perceived that there the shafts of descend-
ing light formed themselves as they fell
into the shape of a Cross. At this, such
sorrow, love, and shame overcame me,
that I knew not where to turn. I mur-
mured :
" Send me back again, dear Angel —
56 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS,
send me back to that Star of Sorrow and
Error. Let me hasten to make amends
there for all my folly — let me try to teach
others what now I know. I am unworthy
to be here beside thee — I am unfit to
look on yonder splendid World — let me
return to do penance for my sins and
shortcomings ; for what am I that God
should bless me ? and though I should
consume myself in labour and suffering,
how can I ever hope to deserve the
smallest place in that heavenly glory I
now partly behold ?" And could spirits
shed tears, I should have wept with re-
morse and grief.
Azul spoke, softly and tenderly :
'* Now thou dost believe — henceforth
thou must love. Love alone can pass yon
flaming barrier — love alone can gain for
thee eternal bliss. In love and for love were
all things made — God loveth His creatures,
even so let His creatures love Him, and
so shall the twain be drawn together."
A MINIATURE CREATION. 57
" Listen !" added my Angel-guide.
'' Thou hast not travelled so far as yet
to remain in ignorance. That burning
Ring thou seest is the result of the
Creator's ever-working Intelligence ; from
it all the Universe hath sprung. It is
exhaustless and perpetually creative ; it is
pure and perfect electricity. The smallest
spark of that fiery essence in a mortal
frame is sufficient to form a soul or spirit,
such as mine, or that of Azul, or thine,
when thou art perfected. The huge
world rolling within the Ring is where
God dwells. Dare not thou to question
His shape, His look, His mien! Know
that He is the Supreme Spirit in which
all Beauty, all Perfection, all Love, find
consummation. His breath is the fire
of the Ring; His look, His pleasure,
cause the motion of His World and
all worlds. There, where He dwells, dwell
also all pure souls ; there all desires have
fulfilment without satiety, and there all
58 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
loveliness, wisdom or pleasure known
in any or all of the other spheres are
also known. Speak, Azul, and tell this
wanderer from Earth what she will gain in
winning her place in Heaven."
Aziil looked tenderly upon me, and
said :
" When thoQ hast slept the brief sleep
of death, when thou art permitted to
throw off for ever thy garb of clay, and
when by thine own ceaseless love and
longing thou hast won the right to pass
the great Circle, thou shalt find thyself
in a land where the glories of the natural
scenery alone shall overpower thee with
joy — scenery that for ever changes into
new wonders and greater beauty. Thou
shalt hear music such as thou canst not
dream of. Thou shalt find friends, beyond
all imagination fair and faithful. Thou
shalt read and see the history of all the
planets, produced for thee in an ever-
moving panorama. Thou shalt love and
A MINIATURE CREATION. 59
be beloved for ever by thine own Twin
Soul ; wherever that spirit may be now,
it must join thee hereafter. The joys
of learning, memory, consciousness, sleep,
waking, and exercise shall all be thine.
Sin, sorrow, pain, disease and death thou
shalt know no more. Thou shalt be able
to remember happiness, to possess it, and
to look forward to it. Thou shalt have
full and pleasant occupation without fatigue
— thy food and substance shall be light
and air. Flowers, rare and imperishable,
shall bloom for thee ; birds of exquisite
form and tender voice shall sing to thee ;
angels shall be thy companions. Thou
shalt have fresh and glad desires to
offer to God with every portion of thy
existence, and each one shall be granted
as soon as asked, for then thou wilt not be
able to ask anything that is displeasing
to Him. But because it is a joy to wish,
thou shalt wish ; and because it is a joy
to grant, so also will He grant. No delight,
6o A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
small or great, is wanting in that vast
sphere ; only sorrow is lacking, and satiety
and disappointment have no place. Wilt
thou seek for admittance there, or wilt thou
faint by the way and grow weary ?"
I raised my eyes full of ecstasy and
reverence.
** My mere efforts must count as nothing,"
I said ; *' but if Love can help me, I will
love and long for God's World until I
die !"
My guardian Angel pointed to those
rays of light I had before noticed, that
slanted downwards towards Earth in the
form of a cross.
'* That is the path by which t/iou must
travel. Mark it well. All pilgrims from
the Sorrowful Star must journey by that
road. Woe to them that turn aside to
roam 'mid spheres they know not of,
to lose themselves in seas of light wherein
they cannot steer ! Remember my warn-
ing ! And now, Spirit who art commended
A MINIATURE CREATION. 6i
to my watchful care, thy brief liberty is
ended. Thou has been lifted up to the
outer edge of the Electric Circle ; further
we dare not take thee. Hast thou aught
else to ask before the veil of mortality
again enshrouds thee .^"
I answered not, but within myself I
formed a wild desire. The Electric Ring
flashed fiercely on my uplifted eyes, but
I kept them fixed hopefully and lovingly
on its intensely deep brilliancy.
'Mf love and faith can avail me," I
murmured, " I shall see what I have
souorht."
I was not disappointed.- The fiery
waves of light parted on either side of
the spot where I w^ith my companions
rested ; and a Figure, majestic, unutterably
grand and beautiful, approached me. At
the same moment a number of other
faces and forms shone hoveringly out of
the Ring ; one I noticed like an exquisitely
beautiful woman, with floating hair and
62 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
clear, earnest, unfathomable eyes. Azul
and the Angel sank reverently down and
drooped their radiant heads like flowers in
hot sunshine. I alone, daringly, yet with
inexpressible affection welling up within
me, watched with unshrinking gaze the
swift advance of that supreme Figure,
upon whose broad brows rested the faint
semblance of a Crown of Thorns. A
voice penetratingly sweet addressed me :
*' Mortal from the Star I saved from
ruin, because thou hast desired Me, I
come ! Even as thy former unbelief, shall
be now thy faith. Because thou lovest
Me, I am with thee. For do I not know
thee better than the Angels can ? Have
I not dwelt in thy clay, suffered thy
sorrows, wept thy tears, died thy deaths ?
One with My Father, and yet one with
thee, I demand thy love, and so through
Me shalt thou attain immortal life."
I felt a touch upon me like a scorching
flame — a thrill rushed through my being —
A MINIATURE CREATION. 6;^
and then I knew that I was sinking down,
down, further and further away. I saw
that wondrous Figure standing serene and
smiling between the retiring waves of
electric radiance. I saw the great inner
sphere revolve, and glitter as it rolled,
like an enormous diamond encircled with
gold and sapphire, and then all suddenly
the air grew dim and cloudy, and the
sensation of falling became more and more
rapid. Aziil was beside me still, and I
also perceived the outline of my guardian
Angel's form, though that was growing
indistinct. I now recalled the request of
Heliobas, and spoke :
'' Azul, tell me what shadow rests upon
the life of him to whom I am now return-
ing!"
Azul looked at me earnestly, and re-
plied :
" Thou darincr one ! Seekest thou to
o
pierce the future fate of others ? Is it not
enough for thee to have heard the voice
64 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
that maketh the Angels' singing silent,
and wouldst thou yet know more ?"
I was full of a strange unhesitating
courage, therefore I said fearlessly :
** He is thy Beloved one, Azul — thy
Twin Soul ; and wilt thou let him fall
away from thee when a word or sign
might save him ?"
*' Even as he Is my Beloved, so let him
not fail to hear my voice," replied Azul,
with a tinge of melancholy. ^' For though
he has accomplished much, he is as yet
but mortal. Thou canst guide him thus
far ; tell him, when death lies like a gift
in his hand, let him withhold it, and re-
member me. And now, my friend — fare-
well !"
I would have spoken again, but could
not. An oppressed sensation came over
me, and I seemed to plunge coldly into a
depth of Inextricable blackness. I felt
cramped for room, and struggled for exist-
ence, for motion, for breath. What had
A MINIATURE CREATION. 65
happened to me ? I wondered indignantly.
Was I a fettered prisoner ? had I lost the
use of my light aerial limbs that had borne
me so swiftly through the realms of space ?
What crushing weight overpowered me ?
why such want of air and loss of delightful
ease ? I sighed restlessly and impatiently
at the narrow darkness In which I found
myself — a sorrowful, deep, shuddering sigh
. . . and woke. That Is to say, I languidly
opened mortal eyes to find myself once more
pent up in mortal frame, though I retained
a perfect remembrance and consciousness
of ^y^ything I had experienced during
my spirit-wanderings. Hellobas stood in
front of me with outstretched hands, and
his eyes were fixed on mine with a mingled
expression of anxiety and authority, which
changed Into a look of relief and gladness
as I smiled at him and uttered his name
aloud.
VOL. II. 25
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CHAPTER III.
SECRETS OF THE SUN AND MOON.
;AVE I been long away ?" I
asked, as I raised myself up-
right in the chair where I had
been resting.
'* I sent you from hence on Thursday
morning at noon," replied Hellobas. ^^ It
is now Saturday evening, and within a few
minutes of midnight. I was growing
alarmed. I have never known anyone
stay absent for so long ; and you resisted
my authority so powerfully, that I began
to fear you would never come back at
all."
SECRETS OF THE SUN AND MOON. 67
*' I wish I had not been compelled to do
so !" I said regretfully.
He smiled.
" No doubt you do. It is the general
complaint. Will you stand up now and
see how you feel ?"
I obeyed. There was still a slight
sensation about me as of being cramped
for space ; but this was passing, and other-
wise I felt singularly strong, bright and
vigorous. I stretched out my hands in
unspeakable gratitude to him, through
whose scientific power I had gained my
recent experience.
" I can never thank you enough !" I
said earnestly. " I dare say you know
something of what I have seen on my
journey ?"
'' Something, but not all," he replied.
" Of course I know what worlds and
systems you saw, but what was said to
you, or what special lessons were given
you for your comfort, I cannot tell."
25—2
68 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
"■ Then I will describe everything while
it is fresh upon me," I returned. " I feel
that I must do so in order that you may
understand how glad I am, — how grateful
I am to you."
I then related the different scenes through
which I had passed, omitting no detail.
Heliobas listened with profound interest
and attention. When I had finished, he
said :
'' Yours has been a most wonderful, I
may say almost exceptional, experience.
It proves to me more than ever the
omnipotence of Will. Most of those who
have been placed by my means in the Up-
hfted or Electric state of being, have
consented to it simply to gratify a sense of
curiosity — few therefore have gone beyond
the pure ether, where, as in a sea, the
planets swim. Cellini, for instance, never
went farther than Venus, because in the
atmosphere of that planet he met the
Spirit that rules and divides his destiny.
SECRETS OF THE SUN AND MOON. 69
Zara — she was daring, and reached the
outer rim of the Great Circle ; but even
she never caught a gHmpse from the great
Central Sphere. Vote, differing from these,
started with a daring aim which you
never lost sight of till you had fulfilled it.
How true are those words : ' Ask, and it
shall be given you ; seek, and ye shall find ;
knock, and it shall be opened unto you !'
It is not possible," and here he sighed,
^' that amid such wonders you could have
remembered me — it were foolish on my
part to expect it."
" I confess I thought nothing of you," I
said frankly, ''till I was approaching Earth
again ; but then my memory prompted me
in time, and I did not forget your request.'^
" And what did you learn ?" he asked
anxiously.
*' Simply this. Azul said that I might
deliver you this message : When death
lies like a gift in your hand, withhold it,
and call upon her."
70 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
'' As if I did not always guide myself
by her promptings !" exclaimed Heliobas,
with a tender smile.
^' You might forget to do so for once," I
said.
'' Never !" he replied fervently. '' It
could not be. But I thank you, my child,
for having thought of me — the message
you bring shall be impressed strongly on
my mind. Now, before you leave me to-
night, I must say a few necessary words."
He paused, and appeared to consider
profoundly for some minutes. At last he
spoke.
" I have selected certain writings for
your perusal," he said. '* In them you
will find full and clear instructions how to
cultivate and educate the electric force
within you, and thus continue the work I
have begun. With these you will also
perceive that I have written out the
receipt for the volatile fluid which, if taken
in a small quantity every day, will keep
SECRETS OF THE SUN AND MOON, yr
you in health, strength, and intellectual
vigour, while it will preserve your youth
and enjoyment of life to a very much
longer extent than that usually experienced
by the majority. Understand me well —
this liquid of itself cannot put you into
an uplifted state of existence; you need
Jnmian electric force applied strongly to
your system to compass this ; and as it is
dangerous to try the experiment too often
— dangerous to the body, I mean — it will
be as well, as you have work to do yet in
this life, not to attempt it again. But if
you drink the fluid every morning of your
life, and at the same time obey my written
manual as to the cultivation of your own
inner force, which is already existent in a
large degree, you will attain to certain
advantages over the rest of the people
you meet, which will give you not only
physical, but mental power."
He paused a minute or two, and again
went on :
72 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
'* When you have educated your Will to
a certain height of electric command, you
can at your pleasure see at any time, and
see plainly, the spirits who inhabit the air ;
and also those who, descending to long
distances below the Great Circle, come
within the range of human electricity, or
the attractive matter contained in the
Earth's atmosphere. You can converse
with them, and they w^Ith you. You will
also be able, at your desire, to see the
parted spirits of dead persons, so long as
they linger within Earth's radius, which
they seldom do, being always anxious to
escape from It as soon as possible. Love
may sometimes detain them, or remorse ;
but even these have to yield to the
superior longings which possess them the
instant they are set free. You will, in
your intercourse with your fellow-mortals,
be able to discern their motives quickly
and unerringly — you will at once discover
where you are loved and where you are
SECRETS OF THE SUN AND MOON. 73
disliked ; and not all the learning and logic
of so-called philosophers shall be able to
cloud your Instinct. You will have a
keener appreciation of good and beautiful
things — a delightful sense of humour, and
invariable cheerfulness ; and whatever you
do, unless you make some mistake by your
own folly, will carry with it its success.
And, what is perhaps a greater privilege,
you will find that all who are brought into
very close contact with you will be bene-
ficially influenced, or the reverse, exactly
as^you choose to exert your power. I do
not think, after what you have seen, you
will ever desire to exert a malign Influence,
know^Ing that the Creator of your being is
all love and forgiveness. At any rate, the
greatest force in the universe, electricity, is
yours — that is, it has begun to form itself
in you — and you have nothing to do but to
encourage its growth, just as you would
encourage a taste for music or the fine
arts. Now let me give you the writings."
74 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
He unlocked a desk, and took from it
two small rolls of parchment, one tied with
a gold ribbon, the other secured in a kind
of case with a clasp. This last he held up
before my eyes, and said :
* This contains my private instructions
to you. Never make a single one of them
public. The world is not ready for
wisdom, and the secrets of science can
only be explained to the few. Therefore
keep this parchment safely under lock and
key, and never let any eye but your own
look upon its contents."
I promised, and he handed it to me.
Then taking the other roll which was tied
with ribbon, he said :
" Here Is written out what I call the
Electric Principle of Christianity. This
is for your own study and consideration :
still if you ever desire to explain my
theory to others, I do not forbid you. But,
as I told you before, you can never compel
belief— the goldfish in a glass bowl will
SECRETS OF THE SUN AND MOON. 75
never understand the existence of the
ocean. Be satisfied if you can guide your-
self by the compass you have found, but
do not grieve if you are unable to guide
others. You may try, but it will not be
surprising if you fail. Nor will it be your
fault. The only sorrow that might happen
to you in these efforts would be in case
you should love some one very dearly, and
yet be unable to instil the truth of what
you know into that particular soul. You
would then have to make a discovery,
which is always more or less painful —
namely, that your love was misplaced,
inasmuch as the nature you had selected
as worthy of love had no part with yours ;
and that separation utter and eternal must
therefore occur, if not in this life, then in
the future. So I would say beware of
loving, lest you should not love rightly —
though I believe you will soon be able to
discern clearly the spirit that is by fate
destined to complete and perfect your own.
76 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
And now, though I know you are scarcely
fatigued enough to sleep, I will say good-
night."
I took the second roll of parchment
from his hand, and opening it a little way
I saw that it was covered with very fine
small writing. Then I said :
** Does Zara know how long I have
been absent ?"
" Yes," replied Heliobas ; '' and she, like
myself, was surprised and anxious. I
think she went to bed long ago ; but you
may look into her room and see if she is
awake, before you yourself retire to rest."
As he spoke of Zara, his eyes grew
melancholy and his brow clouded. An
instinctive sense of fear came upon me.
*' Is she not well ?" I asked.
'' She is perfectly well," he answered.
" Why should you Imagine her to be
otherwise ?"
** Pardon me," I said ; '' I fancied that you
looked unhappy when I mentioned her."
SECRETS OF THE SUN AND MOON. 77
Heliobas made no answer. He stepped
to the window, and throwing back the
curtain, called me to his side.
*' Look out yonder," he said in low and
earnest tones ; " look at the dark blue veil
strewn with stars, through which so lately
your daring soul pierced its flight ! See
how the small Moon hangs like a lamp in
Heaven, apparently outshining the myriad
worlds around her, that are so much vaster
and fairer ! How deceptive is the human
eye ! — nearly as deceptive as the human
reason. Tell me — why did you not visit
the^Moon, or the Sun, in your recent
wanderings ?"
This question caused me some surprise.
It was certainly very strange that I had
not thought of doing so. Yet, on ponder-
ing the matter in my mind, I remembered
that during my aerial journey suns and
moons had been no more to me than
flowers strewn on a meadow. I now
regretted that I had not sought to know
78 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
something of those two fair luminaries
which Hofht and warm our earth.
Heliobas, after watching my face in-
tently, resumed :
"You cannot guess the reason of your
omission ? I will tell you. There is
nothing to see in either Sun or Moon.
They were both inhabited worlds once ;
but the dwellers in the Sun have ages ago
lived their lives and passed to the Central
Sphere. The Sun is nothing now but a
burning world, burning rapidly, and surely,
away ; or rather, it is being absorbed back
into the Electric Circle from which it origin-
ally sprang, to be thrown out again in some
new and grander form. And so with all
worlds, suns and systems, for ever and
ever ! Hundreds of thousands of those
brief time-breathings called years may
pass before this consummation of the Sun ;
but its destruction is going on now, or
rather its absorption — and we on our cold
small star warm ourselves, and are glad, in
the light of an empty world on fire !"
SECRETS OF THE SUN AND MOON. 79
I listened with awe and interest.
'' And the Moon ?" I asked eagerly.
" The Moon does not exist. What we
see is the reflection or the electrograph of
what she once was. Atmospherical elec-
tricity has imprinted this picture of a long-
ago living world upon the heavens, just as
Raphael drew his cartoons for the men
of to-day to see."
'' But," I exclaimed in surprise, '' how
about the Moon's influence on the tides ?
and what of eclipses ?"
*' Not the Moon, but the electric photo-
graph of a once living but now absorbed
world, has certainly an influence on the
tides. The sea is impregnated with elec-
tricity. Just as the Sun will absorb
colours, so the electricity in the sea is
repelled or attracted by the electric picture
of the Moon in Heaven. Because, as a
painting is full df colour, so is that faithful
sketch of a vanished sphere, drawn with a
pencil of pure light, full of immense elec-
8o A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
trlcity ; and to carry the simile further, just
as a painting may be said to be formed of
various dark and light tints, so the electric
portrait of the Moon contains various
degrees of electric force — which, coming in
contact with the electricity of the Earth's
atmosphere, produces different effects on
us and on the natural scenes amid
which we dwell. As for eclipses — if you
slowly pass a round screen between your-
self and a blazing fire, you will only see
the edges of the fire. In the same way
the electrograph of the Moon passes at
stated intervals between the Earth and the
burning world of the Sun."
" Yet surely," I said, '* the telescope has
enabled us to see the Moon as a solid
globe — we have discerned mountains and
valleys on its surface ; and then it revolves
round us regularly — how do you account
for these facts ?"
'' The telescope," returned Heliobas,
** is merely an aid to the human eye ; and.
SECRETS OF THE SUN AND MOON. 8i
as I told you before, nothing is so easily
deceived as our sense of vision, even
when assisted by mechanical appliances.
The telescope, like the stereoscope, simply
enables us to see the portrait of the Moon
more clearly ; but all the same, the Moon,
as a world, does not exist. Her likeness,
taken by electricity, may last some thou-
sands of years, and as long as it lasts it
must revolve around us, because every-
thing in the universe moves, and moves in
a circle. Besides which, this portrait of
the Moon being composed of pure elec-
tricity, is attracted and forced to follow the
Earth by the compelling influence of the
Earth's own electric power. Therefore,
till the picture fades, it must attend the
Earth like the haunting spectre of a dead
joy. You can understand now why w^e
never see what we imagine to be the o^/ier
side of the Moon. It simply has 7io other
side, except space. Space is the canvas
— the Moon is a sketch. How interested
VOL. 11. 26
S2 , A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
we are when a discovery is made of some
rare old painting, of which the subject is a
perfectly beautiful woman ! It bears no
name — perhaps no date — but the face that
smiles at us is exquisite — the lips yet pout
for kisses — the eyes brim over with love !
And we admire it tenderly and reverently
— we mark it ' Portrait of a Lady^ and
give it an honoured place among our art
collections. With how much more rever-
ence and tenderness ought we to look up at
the ' Portrait of a Fair Lost Sphere'
circling yonder in that dense ever-moving
gallery of wonders, where the hurrying
throng of spectators are living and dying
worlds !"
I had followed the speaker's words with
fascinated attention, but now I said :
*' Dying, Heliobas ? There is no death."
*' True !" he answered, with hesitating
slowness. " But there Is what we call death
— transition — and it Is always a parting."
" But not for long !" I exclaimed, with
SECRETS OF THE SUN AND MOON. '83
all the gladness and eagerness of my lately
instructed soul. *' As worlds are absorbed
into the Electric Circle and again thrown
out in new and more glorious forms, so are
we absorbed and changed into shapes of
perfect beauty, having eyes that are strong
and pure enough to look God in the face.
The body perishes — but what have zue to
do with the body — our prison and place of
experience, except to rejoice when we
shake off its weight for ever !"
Heliobas smiled gravely.
'' You have learned your high lesson
well," he said. ''You speak with the
assurance and delight of a spirit satisfied.
But when I talk of death ^ I mean by that
word the parting asunder of two souls who
love each other ; and though such separa-
tion may be brief, still it is always a
separation. For instance, suppose "
he hesitated ; '' suppose Zara were to
die ?"
** Well, you would soon meet her again,"
26 — 2
84 • A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
I answered. ^^ For though you might live
many years after her, still you would know
in yourself that those years were but
minutes in the realms of space "
'* Minutes that decide our destinies," he
interrupted with solemnity. '^ And there
is always this possibility to contemplate —
suppose Zara were to leave me now, how
can I be sure that I shall be strong enough
to live out my remainder of life purely
enough to deserve to meet her again ?
And if not, then Zara's death would mean
utter and almost hopeless separation for
ever — though perhaps I might begin over
again in some other form, and so reach the
goal."
He spoke so musingly and seriously
that I was surprised, for I had thought
him impervious to such a folly as the fear
of death.
" You are melancholy, Heliobas," I said.
'' In the first place, Zara is not going to
leave you yet ; and secondly, if she did,
SECRETS OF THE SUN AND MOON. 85
you know your strongest efforts would be
brought to bear on your career, in order
that no shadow of obstinacy or error
might obstruct your path. Why, the very
essence of our belief Is in the strength of
Will-power. What we wz/l to do, especi-
ally if It be any act of spiritual progress,
we can always accomplish."
Heliobas took my hand and pressed it
warmly.
'' You are so lately come from the high
regions," he said, ''that it warms and
invigorates me to hear your encouraging
words. Pray do not think me capable of
yielding long to the weakness of fore-
boding. I am, in spite of my advance-
ment in electric science, nothing but a
man, and am apt to be hampered often-
times by my mortal trappings. We have
prolonged our conversation further than I
intended. I assure you it is better for you
to try to sleep, even though, as I know,
you feel so wide-wake. Let me give you
86 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
a soothing draught ; It will have the effect
of composing your physical nerves Into
steady working order."
He poured something from a small phial
into a glass, and handed It to me. I drank
it at once, obediently, and with a smile.
'* Good-night, my Master!" I then said.
" You need have no fear of your own
successful upward progress. For If there
were the slightest chance of your falling
Into fatal error, all those human souls you
have benefited would labour and pray for
your rescue ; and I know now that prayers
reach Heaven, so long as they are unselfish.
I, though I am one of the least of your
disciples, out of- the deep gratitude of my
heart towards you, will therefore pray un-
ceasingly for you, both here and hereafter.'
He bent his head.
'' I thank you !" he said simply. ** More
deeds are wrought by prayer than this world
dreams of ! That is a true saying. God
bless you, my child ! Good-night !"
SECRETS OF THE SUN AND MOON. 87
And he opened the door of his study for
me to pass out. As I did so, he laid his
hand hghtly on my head in a sort of un-
spoken benediction — then he closed his
door, and I found myself alone in the great
hall. A suspended lamp was burning-
brightly, and the fountain was gurgling
melodiously to itself in a subdued manner,
as if it were learning a new song for the
morning. I sped across the mosaic pave-
ment with a light eager step, and hurried
up the stairs, intent on finding Zara to tell
her how happy I felt, and how satisfied I
was with my wonderful experience. I
reached the door of her bedroom — It was
ajar. I softly pushed it farther open, and
looked in. A small but exquisitely
modelled statue of an " B^vs " ornamented
one corner. His uplifted torch served as
a light which glimmered faintly through
a rose-coloured glass, and shed a tender
lustre over the room ; but especially upon
the bed, ornamented with rich Oriental
88 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
needle-work, where Zara lay fast asleep.
How beautiful she looked ! Almost as
lovely as any one of the radiant spirits I
had met in my aerial journey ! Her rich
dark hair was scattered loosely on the
white pillows ; her long silky lashes curled
softly on the delicately tinted cheeks ; her
lips, tenderly red, like the colour on
budding apple-blossoms in early spring,
were slightly parted, showing the glimmer
of the small white teeth within ; her night-
dress was slightly undone, and half-dis-
played and half-disguised her neck and
daintily rounded bosom, on which the
electric jewel she always wore glittered
brilliantly as it rose and sank with her
regular and quiet breathing. One fair hand
lay outside the coverlet, and the reflection
from the lamp of the ^^ Eros " flickered on
a ring which adorned it, making its central
diamond flash like a wandering star.
I looked long and tenderly on this per-
fect ideal of a ** Sleeping Beauty," and
SECRETS OF THE SUN AND MOON. 89
then thouorht I would draw closer and see
if I could kiss her without awaking her. I
advanced a few steps into the room — when
suddenly I was stopped. Within about a
yard's distance from the bed a Somethmg
opposed my approach ! I could not move
a foot forward — I tried vigorously, but in
vain ! I could step backward, and that
was all. Between me and Zara there
seemed to be an invisible barrier, strong
and absolutely impregnable. There was
nothing to be seen — nothing but the softly
shaded room — the ever-smiling " Eros,"
and the exquisite reposeful figure of my
sleeping friend. Two steps, and 1 could
have touched her ; but those two steps I
was forcibly prevented from making — as
forcibly as though a deep ocean had rolled
between her and me. I did not stop long
to consider this strange occurrence — I felt
sure it had something to do with her
spiritual life and sympathy, therefore it
neither alarmed nor perplexed me. Kissing
90 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
my hand tenderly towards my darling,
who lay so close to me, and who was yet
so jealously and invisibly guarded during
her slumbers, I softly and reverently with-
drew. On reaching my own apartment,
I was more than half inclined to sit up
reading and studying the parchments
Heliobas had given me ; but on second
thoughts I resolved to lock up these pre-
cious manuscripts and go to bed. I did so,
and before preparing to sleep I remem-
bered to kneel down and offer up praise
and honour, with a loving and believing
heart, to that Supreme Glory, of which I
had been marvellously permitted to enjoy
a brief but transcendent glimpse. And as
I knelt, absorbed and happy, I heard, like
a soft echo falling through the silence of
my room, a sound like distant music,
through which these words floated towards
me : '' A new commandment give I unto
you, that you love one another even as I
have loved you 1"
CHAPTER IV
SOCIABLE CONVERSE.
HE next morning Zara came
herself to awaken me, looking
as fresh and lovely as a sum-
mer morning. She embraced me very
tenderly, and said :
" I have been talking for more than an
hour with Caslmlr. He has told me every-
thing. What wonders you have seen 1
And are you not happy, dearest ? Are
you not strong and satisfied ?"
'' Perfectly !" I replied. '' But, O
Zara ! what a pity that all the world
should not know what we know !"
92 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
'* All have not a desire for knowledge,"
replied Zara. *' Even in your vision of
the garden you possessed, there were only
a few who still sought you ; for those
few you would have done anything, but
for the others your best efforts were in
vain."
*' They might not have been always in
vain," I said musingly.
'* No, they might not," agreed Zara.
^' That is just the case of the world to-day.
While there is life in it, there is also hope.
And, talking of the world, let me remind
you that you are back in it now, and must
therefore be hampered with tiresome trivi-
alities. Two of these are as follows : First,
here is a letter for you, which has just
come ; secondly, breakfast will be ready
in twenty minutes !"
I looked at her smiling face attentively.
She was the very embodiment of vigorous
physical health and beauty ; it seemed like
a dream to remember her in the past
SOCIABLE CONVERSE. 95
night, guarded by that invincible barrier,
the work of no mortal hand. I uttered
nothing, however, of these thoughts, and
responding to her evident gaiety of heart,
I smiled also.
" I will be down punctually at the ex-
piration of the twenty minutes," I said. *' I
assure you, Zara, I am quite sensible of
the claims of earthly existence upon me.
For instance, I am very hungry, and I
shall enjoy breakfast immensely if you will
make the coffee."
Zara, who among her other accomplish-
ments had the secret of making coffee to
perfection, promised laughingly to make it
extra well, and flitted from the room, sing-
ing sofdy as she went a fragment of the
Neapolitan Stornello :
" Fior di mortelle
Queste manine tue son tanto belle !
Fior di limone
Ti voglio far morire di passione !
Salta ! lari— lira."
94 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
The letter Zara had brought me was
from Mrs. Everard, announcing that she
would arrive in Paris that very day,
Sunday.
*' By the time you get this note," so ran
her words, '' we shall have landed at the
Grand Hotel. Come and see us at once
if you can. The Colonel is anxious to
judge for himself how you are looking. If
you are really recovered sufficiently to
leave your medical Pension, we shall be
delighted to have you with us again. I, In
particular, shall be glad, for it is real lone-
some when the Colonel Is out, and I do
hate to go shopping by myself So take
pity upon your affectionate
"Amy."
Seated at breakfast, I discussed this
letter with Hellobas and Zara, and decided
that I would call at the Grand Hotel that
morning.
SOCIABLE CONVERSE.
95
" I wish you would come with me, Zara,"
I said wistfully.
To my surprise, she answered :
" Certainly I will, if you like. But we
will attend High Mass at Notre Dame
first. There will be plenty of time for the
call afterwards."
I gladly agreed to this, and Heliobas
added with cheerful cordiality :
''Why not ask your friends to dine here
to-morrow? Zara's call w^ill be a sufficient
opening formality ; and you yourself have
been long enough w^ith us now to know
that any of your friends will be welcome
here. We might have a pleasant little
party, especially if you add Mr. and Mrs.
Challoner and their daughters to the list.
And I will ask Ivan."
I glanced at Zara when the Prince's
name was uttered, but she made no sign of
either offence or indifference.
" You are very hospitable," I said,
addressing Heliobas; ''but I really see no
96 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
reason why you should throw open your
doors to my friends, unless indeed you
specially desire to please me/'
" Why, of course I do !" he replied
heartily ; and Zara looked up and smiled.
" Then," I returned, " I will ask them to
come. What am I to say about my
recovery, which I know is little short of
miraculous ?"
" Say," replied Heliobas, " that you have
been cured by electricity. There is nothing
surprising in such a statement nowadays.
But say nothing of the human electric force
employed upon you — no one would believe
you, and the effort to persuade unpersuad-
able people is always a waste of time."
An hour after this conversation Zara
and I were in the Cathedral of Notre
Dame. I attended the service with very
different feelings to those I had hitherto
experienced during the same ceremony.
Formerly my mind had been distracted by
harassing doubts and perplexing contradic-
SOCIABLE CONVERSE. 97
tions ; now everything had a meaning for
me — high, and solemn, and sweet. As the
\incense rose, I thought of those rays of
Connecting h'ght I had seen, on which
prayers travel exactly as sound travels
through the telephone. As the grand
organ pealed sonorously through the
fragrant air, I remembered the ever youth-
ful and gracious Spirits of Music, one of
whom, Aeon, had promised to be my
friend. Just to try the strength of my own
electric force, I whispered the name and
looked up. There, on a wide slanting ray
of sunlight that fell directly across the
altar, was the angelic face I well remem-
bered ! — the delicate hands holding the
semblance of a harp in air ! It was but
for an instant I saw it — one brief breathincr-
space in which its smile mingled with the
sunbeams, and then it vanished. But I
knew I was not forgotten, and the deep
satisfaction of my soul poured itself in
unspoken praise on the flood of the
VOL. II. 2y
98 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
^^ Sanctus ! Sanctus !" that just then rolled
triumphantly through the aisles of Notre
Dame. Zara was absorbed in silent prayer
throughout the Mass ; but at its conclu-
sion, when we came out of the cathedral,
she was unusually gay and elate. She
conversed vivaciously with me concerning
the social merits and accomplishments
of the people we were going to visit ;
while the brisk walk through the frosty
air brightened her eyes and cheeks into
warmer lustre, so that on our arrival at the
Grand Hotel she looked to my fancy even
lovelier than usual.
Mrs. Everard did not keep us waiting
long in the private salon to which we were
shown. She fluttered down, arrayed in a
wonderful " art " gown of terra-cotta and
pale blue hues cunningly intermixed, and
proceeded to hug me with demonstrative
fervour. Then she held me a little distance
off, and examined me attentlv^ely.
*' Do you know," she said, '' you are
SOCIABLE CONVERSE. 99
simply in lovely condition ! I never would
have believed it. You are actually as
plump and pink as a peach. And you are
the same creature that wailed and trembled,
and had palpitations and headaches and
stupors ! Your doctor must be a perfect
magician. I think I must consult him,
for I am sure I don't look half as well as
you do."
And indeed she did not. I thought she
had a tired, dragged appearance, but I
would not say so. I knew her w^ell, and I
was perfectly aware that though she was
fascinating and elegant in every way, her
life was too m.uch engrossed in trifles ever
to yield her healthy satisfaction.
After responding warmly to her affec-
tionate greeting, I said :
" Amy, you must allow me to introduce
the sister of my doctor to you. Madame
Zara Casimir — Mrs. Everard."
Zara, who had moved aside a little way
out of delicacy, to avoid intruding on
27 — 2
loo A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
our meeting, now turned, and with her own
radiant smile and exquisite grace, stretched
out her Httle well-gloved hand.
" I am delighted to know you !" she
said, In those sweet penetrating accents of
hers which were like music. *' Vo2ir
friend," here indicating me by a slight yet
tender gesture, *' has also become mine ;
but I do not think we shall be jealous,
shall we ?"
Mrs. Everard made some attempt at a
suitable reply, but she was so utterly lost
In admiration of Zara's beauty, that her
habitual self-possession almost deserted
her. Zara, however, had the most perfect
tact, and with It the ability of making
herself at home anywhere, and we were
soon all three talking cheerfully and with-
out constraint. When the Colonel made
his appearance, which he did very shortly,
he too was ** taken off his feet," as the
saying is, by Zara's loveliness, and the
same effect was produced on the Challoners
SOCIABLE CONVERSE. loi
who soon afterwards joined us in a body.
Mrs. Challoner, in particular, seemed in-
capable of moving her eyes from the con-
templation of my darling's sweet face, and
I glowed with pride and pleasure as I
noted how greatly she was admired.
Miss Effie Challoner alone, who was, by a
certain class of young men, considered
'' doocid pretty, with go In her," opposed
her stock of physical charms to those of
Zara, with a certain air of feminine opposi-
tion ; but she was only able to keep this
barrier up for a little time. Zara's winning
power of attraction was too much for her,
and she, like all present, fell a willing
captive to the enticing gentleness, the
intellectual superiority, and the sympathetic
influence exercised by the evenly balanced
temperament and character of the beautiful
woman I loved so well. After some
desultory and pleasant chat, Zara, in the
name of her brother and herself, invited
Colonel and Mrs. Everard and the
102 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
Challoner family to dine at the Hotel
Mars next day — an invitation which was
accepted by all with eagerness. I per-
ceived at once that every one of them was
anxious to know more of Zara and her
surroundings— a curiosity which I could
not very well condemn. Mrs. Everard
then wanted me to remain with her for the
rest of the afternoon ; but an instinctive
feeling came upon me, that soon perhaps
I should have to part from Heliobas and
Zara, and all the wonders and delights of
their household, in order to resume my
own working life — therefore I determined
I would drain my present cup of pleasure
to the last drop. So I refused Amy's
request, pleading as an excuse that I was
still under my doctor's authority, and
could not indulge in such an excitement as
an afternoon in her society without his
permission. Zara bore me out in this
assertion, and added for me to Mrs.
Everard :
SOCIABLE CONVERSE. 105
'' Indeed, I think it will be better for her
to remain perfectly quiet with us for a day
or two longer ; then she will be thoroughly
cured, and free to do as she likes."
"Well !" said Mrs. Challoner; '' I must
say she doesn't look as if anything were
the matter with her. In fact, I never saw
two more happy healthy-looking girls than
you both. What secret do you possess to
make yourselves look so bright ?"
" No secret at all," replied Zara, laugh-
ing ; '* we simply follow the exact laws of
health, and they suffice."
Colonel Everard, who had been examin-
ing me critically and asking me a few
questions, here turned to Zara and said :
" Do you really mean to say, Madame
Casimir, that your brother cured this girl
by electricity ?"
" Purely so !" she answered earnestly.
** Then it's the most wonderful recovery
/ ever saw. Why, at Cannes, she was
hollow-eyed, pale, and thin as a willow-
I04 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
wand ; now she looks — well, she knows
how she is herself — but If she feels as spry
as she looks, she's in first-rate training !"
I laughed.
** I do feel spry, Colonel," I said. " Life
seems to me like summer sunshine."
"Brava!" exclaimed Mr. Challoner.
He was a staid, rather slow Kentuckian
who seldom spoke, and when he did,
seemed to find it rather an exertion. "If
there's one class of folk I detest more than
another, it is those all-possessed people
who find life unsuited to their fancies.
Nobody asked them to come into it —
nobody would miss them if they went out
of it. Being in it, it's barely civil to
grumble at the Deity who sent them
along here. I never do it myself if I can
help it."
We laughed, and Mrs. Challoner's eyes
twinkled.
*' In England, dear, for instance," she
said, with a mischievous glance at her
SOCIABLE CONVERSE.
spouse — ** in England you never grumbled,
did you ?"
Mr. Challoner looked volumes — his
visage reddened, and he clenched his broad
fist with ominous vigour.
" Why, by the Lord !" he said, with
even more than his usual deliberate utter-
ance, '^ in England the liveliest flea that
ever gave a triumphal jump in air would
find his spirits inclined to droop ! I tell
you, ma'am," he continued, addressing
himself to Zara, whose merry laugh rang
out like a peal of little golden bells at this
last remark — " I tell you that when I
walked in the streets of London I used to
feel as if I were one of a band of criminals.
Every person I met looked at me as if the
universe were about to be destroyed next
minute ; and that they had to build another
up right away without God to help 'em !"
" Well, I believe I agree with you," said
Colonel Everard. '' The English take life
too seriously. In their craze for business
io6 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
they manage to do away with pleasure alto-
gether. They seem afraid to laugh, and
they even approach the semblance of a
smile with due caution."
'' I'm free to confess," added his wife,
"that I'm not easily chilled through. But
an English * at home ' acts upon me like a
patent refrigerator — I get regularly frozen
to the bone !"
" Dear me !" laughed Zara ; ^'you give
very bad accounts of Shakespeare's land !
It must be very sad !"
** I believe it wasn't always so," pursued
Colonel Everard ; *' there are legends
which speak of it as Merrie England. I
dare say it might have been merry once,
before it was governed by shopkeepers ;
but now, you must get away from it if you
want to enjoy life. At least such is my
opinion. But have you never been in
England, Madame Casimir ? You speak
English perfectly."
** Oh, I am a fairly good linguist," replied
SOCIABLE CONVERSE. 107
Zara, ''thanks to my brother. But I have
never crossed the Channel."
The Misses Challoner looked politely
surprised ; their father's shrewd face wore
an expression of grim contentment.
" Don't cross it, ma'am," he said em-
phatically, '' unless you have a special
desire to be miserable. If you want to
know how Christians love one another,
and how to be made limply and uselessly
wretched, spend a Sunday In London."
'' I think I will not try the experiment,
Mr. Challoner/' returned Zara gaily. " Life
is short, and I prefer to enjoy It."
" Say," interrupted Mrs. Challoner, turn-
ing to me at this juncture, '* now you are
feeling so well, would it be asking you too
much to play us a piece of your own im-
provising ?"
I glanced at the grand piano, which
occupied a corner of the sa/on where we
sat, and hesitated. But at a slight nod
from Zara, I rose, drew off my gloves, and
io8 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
seated myself at the instrument, which, to
my satisfaction, I saw was one of my
favourites, a " Pleyell." Passing my hands
hghtly over the keys, I wandered through
a few running passages ; and as I did so,
murmured a brief petition to my aerial
friend Aeon. Scarcely had I done this,
when a flood of music seemed to rush to
my brain and thence to my fingers, and I
played, hardly knowing what I played, but
merely absorbed in trying to give utter-
ance to the sounds which were falling softly
upon my inner sense of hearing like drops
of summer rain on a thirsty soil. I was
just aware that I was threading the laby-
rinth of a minor key, and that the result
was a network of delicate and tender
melody reminding me of Heinrich Heine^s
words :
'' Lady, did you not hear the nightingale
sing ? A beautiful silken voice — a web of
happy notes — and my soul was taken in
its meshes, and strangled and tortured
thereby."
SOCIABLE CONVERSE. 109
A few minutes, and the inner voice that
conversed with me so sweetly, died away
into silence, and at the same time my
fingers found their way to the closing-
chord. As one awaking from a dream, I
looked up. The little group of friendly
listeners were rapt in the deepest attention ;
and when I ceased, a murmur of admira-
tion broke from them all, while Zara's eyes
glistened with sympathetic tears.
'' How can you do it ?" asked Mrs.
Challoner in good-natured amazement.
'' It seems to me impossible to compose
like that while seated at the piano, and
without taking previous thought !"
** It is not i??y doing," I began ; " it seems
to come to me from "
But I was checked by a look from Zara,
that gently warned me not to hastily betray
the secret of my spiritual communion
with the unseen sources of harmony. So
I smiled and said no more. Inwardly I
was full of a great rejoicing, for I knew
no A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
that however well I had played in past
days, it was nothing compared to the
vigour and ease which were now given to
me — a sort of unlocking of the storehouse
of music, with freedom to take my choice
of all its vast treasures.
" Well, it's what we call inspiration,"
said Mr. Challoner, giving my hand a
friendly grasp, "and wherever it comes
from, it must be a great happiness to your-
self as well as to others."
" It is," I answered earnestly. '* I be-
lieve few are so perfectly happy in music as
I am."
Mrs. Everard looked thoughtful.
*' No amount of practice could make me
play like that," she said ; '' yet I have had
two or three masters who were supposed
to be first-rate. One of them was a German,
who used to clutch his hair like a walking
tragedian whenever I played a wrong note.
I believe he got up his reputation entirely by
that clutch, for he often played wrong notes
SOCIABLE CONVERSE. m
himself without minding it. But just be-
cause he worked himself Into a sort of
frenzy when others went wrong, everybody
praised him, and said he had such an ear
and was so sensitive that he must be a
great musician. He worried me nearly to
death over Bach's 'Well-tempered Klavier'
— all to no purpose, for I can't play a note
of it now, and shouldn't care to if I could. I
consider Bach a dreadful old bore, though
I know it is heresy to say so. Even
Beethoven is occasionally prosy, only no
one will be courageous enough to admit
It. People would rather go to sleep over
classical music than confess they don't
like it."
" Schubert would have been a grander
master than Beethoven, If he had only
lived long enough," said Zara ; " but I
dare say very few will agree with me In
such an assertion. Unfortunately most of
my opinions differ from those of everyone
else."
112 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
" You should s?iy fortunately^ madame,"
said Colonel Everard, bowing gallantly ;
'' as the circumstance has the happy result
of making you perfectly original as well as
perfectly charming."
Zara received this compliment with her
usual sweet equanimity, and we rose to
take our leave. As we were passing out,
Amy Everard drew me back and crammed
into the pocket of my cloak a newspaper.
'' Read it when you are alone," she
whispered ; '* and you will see what
Raffaello Cellini has done with the sketch
he made of you."
We parted from these pleasant Ameri-
cans with cordial expressions of goodwill,
Zara reminding them of their engagement
to visit her at her own home next day, and
fixing the dinner-hour for half-past seven.
On our return to the Hotel Mars, we
found Heliobas In the drawing-room, deep
In converse with a Catholic priest — a fine-
looking man of venerable and noble
SOCIABLE CONVERSE. 113
features. Zara addressed him as " Father
Paul," and bent humbly before him to
receive his blessing, which he gave her
with almost parental tenderness. He
seemed, from his familiar manner with
them, to be a very old friend of the
family.
On my being introduced to him, he
greeted me with gentle courtesy, and gave
me also his simple unaffected benediction.
We all partook of a light luncheon
together, after which repast Heliobas and
Father Paul withdrew together. Zara
looked after their retreating figures with a
sort of meditative pathos in her large eyes ;
and then she told me she had something
to finish in her studio — would I excuse her
for about an hour ? I readily consented,
for I myself was desirous of passing a
little time in solitude, in order to read
the manuscripts Heliobas had given me.
" For," thought I, "if there is anything in
them not quite clear to me, he will explain
VOL. II. 28
114 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
It, and I had better take advantage of his
instruction while I can."
As Zara and I went upstairs together,
we were followed by Leo — a most unusual
circumstance, as that faithful animal was
generally in attendance on his master.
Now, however, he seemed to have some-
thing oppressive on his mind, for he kept
close to Zara, and his big brown eyes,
whenever he raised them to her face, were
full of intense melancholy. His tail
drooped in a forlorn way, and all the
vivacity of his nature seemed to have gone
out of him.
" Leo does not seem well," I said,
patting the dog's beautiful silky coat, an
attention to which he responded by a
heavy sigh and a wistful gaze approaching
to tears. Zara looked at him.
'' Poor Leo !" she murmured caressingly.
** Perhaps he feels lonely. Do you want to
come with your mistress to-day, old boy ?
So you shall. Come along — cheer up, Leo !"
SOCIABLE CONVERSE. 115
And, nodding to me, she passed into
her studio, the dog following her. I
turned into my own apartment, and then
bethought myself of the newspaper Mrs.
Everard had thrust into my pocket. It
was a Roman journal, and the passage
marked for my perusal ran as follows :
*' The picture of the I^nprovisatrice^
painted by our countryman Signor
Raffaello Cellini, has been purchased by
Prince N for the sum of forty thou-
sand francs. The Prince generously per-
mits it to remain on view for a few days
longer, so that those who have not yet
enjoyed its attraction, have yet time to
behold one of the most wonderful pictures
of the age. The colouring yet remains a
marvel to both students and connoisseurs,
and the life-like appearance of the girl's
figure, robed in its clinging white draperies
ornamented with lilies of the valley, is so
strong, that one imagines she will step out
of the canvas and confront the bystanders.
28—2
ii6 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS,
SIgnor Cellini must now be undoubtedly
acknowledged as one of the greatest
geniuses of modern times."
I could see no reason, as I perused this,
to be sure that / had served as the model
for this successful work of art, unless the
white dress and the lilies of the valley,
which I had certainly worn at Cannes,
were sufficient authority for forming such
a conclusion. Still I felt quite a curiosity
about the picture — the more so as I could
foresee no possible chance of my ever be-
holding it. I certainly should not go to
Rome on purpose, and in a few days it
would be in the possession of Prince
N , a personage whom in all proba-
bility I should never know. I put the
newspaper carefully by, and then turned
my mind to the consideration of quite
another subject — namely, the contents of
my parchment documents. The first one
I opened was that containing the private
instructions of Heliobas to myself for the
SOCIABLE CONVERSE. 117
preservation of my own health, and the
cultivation of the electric force within me.
These were so exceedingly simple, and
yet so wonderful in their simplicity, that I
was surprised. They were based upon the
plainest and most reasonable common-
sense arguments — easy enough for a child
to understand. Having promised never to
make them public, it is impossible for me
to give the slightest hint of their purport ;
but I may say at once, without trespass-
ing the bounds of my pledged word, that
if these few concise instructions were
known and practised by everyone, doctors
would be entirely thrown out of employ-
ment, and chemists' shops would no longer
cumber the streets. Illness would be very
difficult of attainment — though in the
event of its occurring each Individual
would know how to treat him or herself —
and life could be prolonged easily and
comfortably to more than a hundred years,
barring, of course, accidents by sea, rail and
ii8 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
road, or by deeds of violence. But it will
take many generations before the world Is
universally self- restrained enough to follow
such plain maxims as those laid down for
me In the writing of my benefactor,
Heliobas — even if it be ever self- restrained
at all, which, judging from the present
state of society, is much to be doubted.
Therefore, no more of the subject, on
which, indeed, I am forbidden to speak.
The other document, called '' The
Electric Principle of Christianity," I
found so curious and original, suggesting
so many new theories concerning that
religion which has civilized a great portion
of humanity, that as I am not restrained
by any promise on this point, I have
resolved to give it here In full. My
readers must not be rash enough to jump
to the conclusion that I set it forward as
an explanation or confession of my own
faith ; my creed has nothing to do with
anyone save myself. I simply copy the
SOCIABLE CONVERSE. 119
manuscript I possess, as the theory of a
deeply read and widely intelligent man,
such as Heliobas undoubtedly was and is ;
a man, too, in whose veins runs the blood
of the Chaldean kings, — earnest and
thoughtful Orientals, who were far wiser
in their generation perhaps than we, with
all our boasted progress, are in ours.
The coincidences which have to do with
electrical science will, I believe, be
generally admitted to be curious if not
convincing. To me, of course, they are
only fresh proofs of what I know, because
/ have seen the Grlat Electric Circle, and
know its power (guided as it is by the
Central Intelligence within) to be capable
of anything, from the sending down of a
minute spark of Instinct into the heart of
a flower, to the perpetual manufacture and
re-absorption of solar systems by the mil-
lion million. And it is a circle that ever
widens without end. What more glorious
manifestation can there be of the Creator's
I20 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
splendour and wisdom ! But as to how
this world of ours span round in its own
light littleness farther and farther from the
Radiant Ring, till its very Sun began to
be re-absorbed, and till its Moon dis-
appeared and became a mere picture — till
it became of itself like a small blot on the
fair scroll of the Universe, while its inhabi-
tants grew to resent all heavenly attrac-
tion ; and how it was yet thought worth
God's patience and tender consideration,
just for the sake of a few human souls
upon it who still remembered and loved
Him, to give it one more chance before it
should be drawn back into the Central
Circle like a spark within a fire — all this
is sufficiently set forth in the words of
Heliobas, quoted in the next chapter.
CHAPTER V.
THE ELECTRIC CREED.
HE ''Electric Principle of Christi-
anity " opened as follows :
'' From all Eternity God, or
the Siip7^eme Spirit of Light ^ existed, and
to all Eternity He will continue to exist.
This is plainly stated in the New Testa-
ment thus : * God is a Spirit, and they
that worship Him must worship Him in
spirit and in truth.'
'' He is a Shape of pure Electric
Radiance. Those who may be inclined
to doubt this may search the Scriptures
on which they pin their faith, more par-
122 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
ticularly the Testament, and they will find
that all the visions and appearances of
the Deity there chronicled were electric
in character.
** As a poet forms poems, or a musician
melodies, so God formed by a Thought
the vast Central Sphere in which He
dwells, and peopled it with the pure
creations of His glorious fancy. And
why ? Because, being pure Light, He
is also pure Love ; the power or capacity
of Love implies the necessity of Loving ;
the necessity of loving points to the
existence of things to be loved — hence
the secret of creation. From the ever-
working Intelligence of this Divine Love
proceeded the Electric Circle of the
Universe, from whence are born all
worlds.
''This truth vaguely dawned upon the
ancient poets of Scripture when they
wrote : * Darkness was upon the face of
the deep. And the Spirit of God moved
THE ELECTRIC CREED. 123
upon the face of the waters. And God
said, Let there be light. And there was
light;
" These words apply solely to the
creation or production of otcr own Earthy
and in them we read nothing but a simple
manifestation of electricity, consisting in a
kealmg passage of rays from the Central
Circle to the planet newly propelled forth
from it, which caused that planet to pro-
duce and multiply the wonders of the
animal, vegetable and mineral kingdoms
which we call Nature.
*' Let us now turn again to the poet-
prophets of Scripture : ^ And God said,
Let us make man in our image.' The
word 'our' here implies an instinctive idea
that God was never alone. This idea is
correct. Love cannot exist in a chaos ;
and God by the sheer necessity of His
Being has for ever been surrounded by
radiant and immortal Spirits emanating
from His own creative glory — beings in
124 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
whom all beauty and all purity are found.
In the images, therefore (only the images),
of these Children of Light and of Himself,
He made Man — that is, He caused the
Earth to be inhabited and dominated by
beings composed of Earth's component
parts, animal, vegetable and mineral,
giving them their superiority by placing
within them His 'likeness' in the form of
an electric flame ox germ of spiritual exist-
ence combined with its companion working-
force of Will-power,
'* Like all flames, this electric spark can
either be fanned into a fire or it can be
allowed to escape in air — it can never be
destroyed. It can be fostered and educated
till it becomes a living Spiritual Form of
absolute beauty — an immortal creature of
thought, memory, emotion, and working
intelligence. If, on the contrary, it is
neglected or forgotten, and its companion
Will is drawn by the weight of Earth to
work for earthly aims alone, then it escapes
THE ELECTRIC CREED. 125
and seeks other chances of development In
other forms on other planets, while the body
it leaves, supported only by physical suste-
nance drawn from the Earth on which it
dwells, becomes a mere lump of clay ani-
mated by mere animal life solely, full of
inward ignorance and corruption and out-
ward incapacity. Of such material are the
majority of men composed by their own
free-will and choice, because they habitually
deaden the voice of conscience and refuse
to believe In the existence of a spiritual
element within and around them.
" To resume : the Earth is one of the
smallest of planets ; and not only this, but,
from its position in the Universe, receives
a less amount of direct Influence from the
Electric Circle than other worlds more
happily situated. Were men wise enough
to accept this fact, they would foster to the
utmost the germs of electric sympathy
within themselves, in order to form a direct
communication, or system of attraction.
126 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
between this planet and the ever-widening
Ring, so that some spiritual benefit might
accrue to them thereby. But as the ages
roll on, their chances of doing this diminish.
The time is swiftly approaching when the
invincible Law of Absorption shall extin-
guish Earth as easily as we blow out the
flame of a candle. True, it may be again
reproduced, and again thrown out on space ;
but then it will be in a new and grander
form, and will doubtless have more god-
like inhabitants.
'* In the meantime — during those brief
cycles of centuries which are as a breath in
the workings of the Infinite, and which
must yet elapse before this world, as we
know it, comes to an end — God has taken
pity on the few, very few souls dwelling
here, pent up in mortal clay, who have
blindly tried to reach Him, like plants
straining up to the light, and has estab-
lished a broad stream of sympathetic
electric communication with Himself, which
THE ELECTRIC CREED. 127
all who care to do so may avail them-
selves of.
'' Here it may be asked : Why should
God take pity ? Because that Supreme
Shape of Light finds a portion of Himself
in all pure souls that love Him, and He
cannot despise Himself. Also, because He
is capable of all the highest emotions
known to man, in a far larger and grander
degree, besides possessing other sentiments
and desires unimaginable to the human
mind. It is enough to say that all the
attributes that accompany perfect goodness
He enjoys ; therefore He can feel com-
passion, tenderness, forgiveness, patience
— all or any of the emotions that produce
pure, unselfish pleasure.
" Granting Him, therefore, these attri-
butes (and it is both blasphemous and
unreasonable to deny Him those virtues
which distingttish the best of men), it is
easily understood how He, the All-Fair
Beneficent Ruler of the Central Sphere,
128 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
perceiving the long distance to which the
Earth was propelled, like a ball flung too
far out, from the glory of His Electric
Ring, saw also that the creatures He had
made in His image were in danger of
crushing that image completely out, and
with it all remembrance of Him, in the
fatal attention they gave to their merely
earthly surroundings, lacking, as they did,
and not possessing sufficient energy to
seek, electric attraction. In brief, this
Earth and God's World were like America
and Europe before the Atlantic Cable was
laid. Now the messages of goodwill flash
under the waves, heedless of the storms.
So also God's Cable is laid between us and
His Heaven in the person of Christ.
*' For ages (always remembering that
our ages are with God a moment) the idea
of worship was in the mind of man. With
this idea came also the sentiment of pro-
pitiation. The untamed savage has from
time Immemorial Instinctively felt the
THE ELECTRIC CREED. 129
necessity of looking up to a Being
greater than himself, and also of seeking
a reconciliation with that Being for some
fault or loss in himself which he is aware
of, yet cannot explain. This double instinct
— worship and propitiation — is the key-
note of all the creeds of the world, and may
be called God's first thought of the cable
to be hereafter laid — a lightning-thought
which He instilled into the human race to
prepare it, as one might test a telegraph-
wire from house to house, before stretch-
ing it across a continent.
'' All religions, as known to us, are mere
types of Christianity. It is a notable fact
that some of the oldest and most learned
races in the world, such as the Armenians
and Chaldeans, were the first to be con-
vinced of the truth of Christ's visitation.
Buddhism, of which there are so many
million followers, is itself a type of Christ's
teaching ; only it lacks the supernatural
element. Buddha died a hermit at the age
VOL. II. 29
I30 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
of eighty, as any wise and ascetic man
might do to-day. The death and resur-
rection of Christ were widely different.
Anyone can be a Buddha again ; anyone
can no^ be a Christ. That there are stated
to be more followers of Buddhism than of
Christianity is no proof of any efficacy in
the former or lack of power in the latter.
Buddhists help to swell that very large
class of persons who prefer a flattering
picture to a plain original ; or who, sheep-
like by nature, finding themselves all
together in one meadow, are too lazy, as
well as too indifferent, to seek pastures
fresher and fairer.
" Through the divine influence of an
Electric Thought, then, the world uncon-
sciously grew to expect something — they
knew not what. The old creeds of the
world, like sunflowers, turned towards that
unknown Sun ; the poets, prophets, seers,
all spoke of some approaching consola-
tion and glory ; and to this day the fated
THE ELECTRIC CREED. 131
Jews expect it, unwilling to receive as their
Messiah the Divine Martyr they slew,
though their own Scriptures testify to His
identity.
" Christ came, born of a Virgin ; that is,
a radiant angel from God's Sphere was in
the first place sent down to Earth to wear
the form of Mary of Bethlehem, in Judea.
Within that vessel of absolute purity God
placed an Emanation of His own radiance
— no germ or small flame such as is given
to us in our bodies to cultivate and foster,
but a complete immortal Spirit, a portion
of God Himself, wise, sinless, and strong.
This Spirit, pent up in clay, was born as a
helpless babe, grew up as man — as man
taught, comforted, was slain and buried ;
but as pure Spirit rose again and returned
in peace to Heaven, His mission done.
"It was necessary, in order to establish
what has been called an electric communi-
cation between God's Sphere and this
Earth, that an actual immortal, untainted
29 — 2
132 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
Spirit in the person of Christ should walk
this world, sharing with men sufferings,
difficulties, danger, and death. Why ? In
order that we might first completely con-
fide In and trust Him, afterwards realizing
His spiritual strength and glory by His
resurrection. And here may be noted
the main difference between the Electric
Theory of Christianity and other theories.
Christ did not die because God needed a
sacrifice. The idea of sacrifice Is a relic
of heathen barbarism ; God Is too Infinitely
loving to desire the sacrifice of the smallest
flower. He Is too patient to be ever
wrathful ; and barbaric ignorance confronts
us again in the notion that He should need
to be appeased. And the fancy that He
should desire Himself or part of Himself
to become a sacrifice to Himself has arisen
out of the absurd and conflicting opinions
of erring humanity, wherein right and
wrong are so jumbled together that it is
difficult to distinguish one from the other.
THE ELECTRIC CREED. 133
Christ's death was not a sacrifice ; it was
simply a means of confidence and com-
munion with the Creator. A sinless Spirit
suffered to show us how to suffer ; lived
on Earth to show us how to live ; prayed
to show us how to pray ; died to show us
how to die ; rose again to impress strongly
upon us that there was in truth a life be-
yond this one, for which He strove to
prepare our souls. Finally, by His re-
ascension into Heaven He established that
much-needed electric communication be-
tween us and the Central Sphere.
^' It can be proved from the statements
of the New Testament that in Christ was
an Embodied Electric Spirit. From first
to last His career was attended by electric
phenomena, of which eight examples are
here quoted ; and earnest students of the
matter can find many others if they choose
to examine for themselves.
" I. The appearance of the Star and the
Vision of Angels on the night of His birth.
134 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
The Chaldeans saw His ^ star in the east/
and they came to worship Him. The
Chaldeans were always a learned people,
and electricity was an advanced science
with them. They at once recognised the
star to be no new planet, but simply a star-
shaped electric flame flitting through space.
They knew what this meant. Observe,
too, that they had no doubts upon the
point ; they came ' ^o worship Hi?n^' and
provided themselves with gifts to offer to
this radiant Guest, the offspring of pure
Light. The vision of the angels appearing
to the shepherds was simply a joyous band
of the Singing Children of the Electric
Ring, who out of pure interest and pleasure
floated in sight of Earth, drawn thither
partly by the already strong attractive in-
fluence of the Radiance that was imprisoned
there in the form of the Babe of Beth-
lehem.
" 2. When Christ was baptized by John
the Baptist, ' the heavens opened!
THE ELECTRIC CREED. 135
'' 3. The sympathetic influence of Christ
was so powerful, that when He selected His
disciples, He had but to speak to them, and
at the sound of His voice, though they
were engaged in other business, ' they left
all and followed Him!
'* 4. Christ's body was charged w'lth
electricity. Thus He was easily able to
heal sick and diseased persons by a touch
or a look. The woman who caught at His
garment in the crowd was cured of her long-
standing ailment ; and we see that Christ
was aware of His own electric force by the
words He used on that occasion : * WJia
touched Me ? For I feel that soine virtue
is gone out of Me' — which is the exact
feeling that a physical electrician experi-
ences at this day after employing his powers
on a subject. The raising of Jairus's
daughter, of the widow's son at Nain, and
of Lazarus, were all accomplished by the
same means.
''5. The walking on the sea was a
136 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
purely electric effort, and can be accom-
plished now by anyone who has cultivated
sufficient inner force. The sea being full
of electric particles will support anybody
sufficiently and similarly charged — the two
currents combining to procure the neces-
sary equilibrium. Peter, who was able to
walk a little way, lost his power directly
his will became vanquished by fear —
because the sentiment of fear disperses
electricity, and being a purely human
emotion, does away with spiritual strength
for the time.
'* 6. The Death of Christ was attended
by electric manifestations — by the darkness
over the land during the Crucifixion ; the
tearing of the temple veil in twain; and
the earthquake which finally ensued.
" 7. The Resurrection was a most
powerful display of electric force. It will
be remembered that the angel who was
found sitting at the entrance of the empty
sepulchre 'had a countenance like light-
THE ELECTRIC CREED. 137
nt7tg,'' i.e. like electric flame. It must also
be called to mind how the risen Christ
addressed Mary Magdalene : * Touch Me
not, for I am but newly risen !' Why
should she not have touched Him ?
Simply because His strength then was the
strength of concentrated in-rushing cur-
rents of electricity ; and to touch Him at
that moment would have been for Magda-
lene instant death by lightning. This
effect of embodied electric force has been
shadowed forth in the Greek legends of
Apollo, whose glory consumed at a breath
the mortal who dared to look upon him.
'' 8. The descent of the Holy Ghost, by
which term is meant an ever-flowing
current of the inspired working Intelli-
gence of the Creator, was purely electric
in character : ' Suddenly there came a
sound from Heaven as of a rushing mighty
wind, and it filled all the house where they
were sitting. And there appeared unto
them cloven tongues like as of fire, and sat
138 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
upon each of them.' It may here be noted
that the natural electric flame is dual or
* cloven ' in shape.
" Let us now take the Creed as accepted
to-day by the Christian Church, and see
how thoroughly it harmonizes with the
discoveries of spiritual electricity. * I
believe in one God the Father Almighty,
Maker of Heaven and Earth, and of all
things visible and invisible! This is a
brief and simple description of the Creator
as He exists — a Supreme Centre of Light,
out of whom imtst spring all life, all love,
all wisdom.
" ' And In one Lord Jesus Christ, the
only-begotten Son of God, born of the
Father before all ages.' This means that
the only absolute Emanation of His own
pe7^sonal Radiance that ever wore such
mean garb as our clay was found in Christ
— who, as part of God, certainly existed
' before all ages! For as the Creed itself
says, He was * God of God, Light of
THE ELECTRIC CREED. 139
Light/ Then we go on through the
circumstances of Christ's birth, Hfe, death,
and resurrection, and our profession of
faith brings us to 'I believe in the Holy
Ghost, the Lord and giver of Life, who
proceedeth from the Father and the Son,'
etc. This, as already stated, means that
we believe that since Christ ascended into
Heaven, our electric communication with
the Creator has been established, and an
ever-flowing current of divine inspiration
is turned beneficially in the direction of
our Earth, ' proceeding from the Father
and the Son.' We admit in the Creed
that this inspiration manifested itself before
Christ came and ' spake by the prophets ;
but, as before stated, this only happened at
rare and difficult intervals, while now
Christ Himself speaks through those who
most strongly adhere to His teachings.
*' It may here be mentioned that few seem
to grasp the fact of the special message to
women intended to be conveyed in the
I40 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
person of the Virgin Mary. She was
actually one of the radiant Spirits of the
Central Sphere, imprisoned by God's will
in woman's form. After the birth of Christ,
she was still kept on Earth, to follow His
career to the end. There was a secret
understanding between Himself and her.
As, for instance, when she found Him
among the doctors of the law, she for one
moment suffered her humanity to get the
better of her in anxious inquiries ; and His
reply, * Why sought ye Me ? Wist ye not
that I must be about My Father's busi-
ness i^' was a sort of reminder to her,
which she at once accepted. Again, at the
marriage feast in Cana of Galilee, when
Christ turned the water into wine, He said
to His mother, * Woman, what have I to
do with thee ?' which meant simply : What
have I to do with thee as woman merely ^
— which was another reminder to her of
her spiritual origin, causing her at once
to address the servants who stood by as
THE ELECTRIC CREED. 141
follows : ' Whatsoever He saith unto you,
do it.' And why, it may be asked, if Mary
was really an imprisoned immortal Spirit,
sinless and joyous, should she be forced
to suffer all the weaknesses, sorrows, and
anxieties of any ordinary woman and
mother ? Simply as an example to womeri
who are the mothers of the human race ;
and who, being thus laid under a heavy
responsibility, need sympathetic guidance.
Mary's life teaches women that the virtues
they need are — obedience, purity, meek-
ness, patience, long-suffering, modesty, self-
denial, and endurance. She loved to hold
a secondary position ; she placed herself
in willing subjection to Joseph — a man of
austere and simple life, advanced in years,
and weighted with the cares of a family by
a previous marriage — who wedded her by
an influence which compelled him to become
her protector in the eyes of the world. Out
of these facts, simple as they are, can be
drawn the secret of happiness for women —
142 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
a secret and a lesson that, if learned by
heart, would bring them and those they
love out of storm and bewilderment into
peace and safety.
** J^or those who have once become awai^e of
the existence of the Central Sphere and of
the Electric Ring surrounding it, and who
are able to realize to the fell the gigantic
as well as minute work perfor7ned by the
electric waves around us and within ns,
there can no longer be any doubt as to all
the facts of Christianity, as none of them,
viewed by the electric theory, are otherwise
than in accordance with the Creator's love
and sympathy with even the smallest
portion of His creation.
'' Why then, if Christianity be a Divine
Truth, are not all people Christians ? As
well ask, if music and poetry are good
things, why all men are not poets and
musicians. Art seeks art ; in like manner
God seeks God — that is. He seeks portions
of His own essence among His creatures.
THE ELECTRIC CREED.
143
Christ Himself said, ' INIany are called, but
few are chosen ;' and it stands to reason
that very few souls will succeed in becoming
pure enough to enter the Central Sphere
without hindrance. Many, on leaving Earth,
will be detained in the Purgatory of Air,
where thousands of spirits work for ages,
watching over others, helping and warning
others, and in this unselfish labour succeed
in raising themselves, little by little, higher
and ever higher, till they at last reach the
longed-for goal. It must also be remem-
bered that not only from Earth but from all
worlds, released souls seek to attain final
happiness in the Central Sphere where
God is ; so that, however great the number
of those that are permitted to proceed
thither from this little planet, they can only
form, as it were, one drop in. a mighty
ocean.
'' It has been asked whether the Electric
Theory of Christianity includes the doctrine
of Hell, or a place of perpetual punishment.
144 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
Eternal Punishment Is merely a form of speech
for what is really Eternal Retrogression.
For as there Is a Forward, so there must
be a Backward. The electric germ of the
Soul — delicate, fiery, and Imperishable as It
is — can be forced by its companion Will to
take refuge In a lower form of material
existence, dependent on the body It first
inhabits. For Instance, a man who is ob-
stinate In pursuing ac/we evil can so retro-
grade the progress of any spiritual life
within him, that It shall lack the power to
escape, as It might do, from merely lym-
phatic and listless temperaments, to seek
some other chance of development, but
shall sink Into the forms of quadrupeds,
birds^ and other creatures dominated by
purely physical needs. But there Is one
thing It can never escape from — Memory,
And in that faculty is constituted Hell.
So that If a man, by choice, forces his soul
downward to inhabit hereafter the bodies
of doo^s, horses, and other like animals, he
THE ELECTRIC CREED. 145
should know that he does so at the cost of
everything except Remembrance. Eternal
Retrogression means that the hopelessly
tainted electric germ recoils further and
further from the Pure Centre whence it
sprang, always bearing within itself the
knowledge of what it was once and what it
might have been. There is pathetic mean-
ing in the eyes of a dog or a seal ; in the
melancholy, patient gaze of the oxen toiling
at the plough ; there is an unuttered warn-
ing in the silent faces of flowers ; there
is more tenderness of regret in the voice of
the nightingale than love ; and in the wild
upward soaring of the lark, with its throat
full of passionate, shouting prayer, there is
shadowed forth the yearning hope that dies
away in despair as the bird sinks to earth
again, his instincts not half satisfied. There
is no greater torture than to be compelled
to remember, in suffering, joys and glorious
opportunities gone for ever.
" Regarding the Electric Theory of
VOL. II. 30
146 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
Religion, it is curious to observe how the
truth of it has again and again been dimly
shadowed forth in the prophecies of Art,
Science, and Poesy. The old painters who
depicted a halo of light round the head of
their Virgins and Saints did so out of a
correct impulse which they did not hesitate
to obey.* The astronomers who, after years
of profound study, have been enabled to
measure the flames of the burning sun, and
to find out that these are from two to four
thousand miles high, are nearly arrived at
the conclusion that it is a world in a state
of conflagration, in which they will be per-
fectly right. Those who hold that this
Earth of ours was once self-luminous are
also right ; for it was indeed so when first
projected from the Electric Ring. The
compilers or inventors of the * Arabian
Nights' also hit upon a truth when they
^ An impulse which led them vaguely to foresee,
though not to explain, the electric principle of spiritual
life.
THE ELECTRIC CREED. 147
described human beings as forced through
evil influence to take the forms of lower
animals — a truth just explained in the Law
of Retrogression. All art, all prophecy,
all poesy, should therefore be accepted
eagerly and studied earnestly, for in them
we find electric inspiration, out of which
we are able to draw lessons for our guidance
hereafter. The great point that scientists
and artists have hitherto failed to discover,
is the existence of the Central Sphere and
its surrounding Electric Circle. Once
realize these two great facts, and all the
wonders and mysteries of the Universe are
perfectly easy of comprehension.
*' In conclusion, I offer no opinion as to
w^hich is Christ's Church, or the Fountain-
head of Spirituality in the world. In all
Churches errors have intruded through
unworthy and hypocritical members. In a
crowded congregation of worshippers there
may perhaps be only one or two who are
free from self-interest and personal vanity.
-;o — 2
148 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
In Sectarianism, for instance, there is no
shred of Christianity. Lovers of God and
followers of Christ must, in the first place,
have perfect Unity ; and the bond uniting
them must be an electric one of love and
faith. No true Christian should be able to
hate, despise, or envy the other. Were I
called upon to select among the Churches, I
should choose that which has viost electricity
working within it, and which is able to
believe in a positive electrical communica-
tion between Christ and herself taking place
daily on her altars — a Church which holds, as
it were, the other end of the telegraphic ray
between Earth and the Central Sphere, and
which is, therefore, able to exist among the
storms of modern opinions, affording refuge
and consolation to the few determined
travellers who are bound onward and up-
ward. I shall not name the Church I mean,
because it is the duty of everyone to ex-
amine and find it out for himself or herself.
And even though this Church instinctively
THE ELECTRIC CREED, 149
works in the right direction, it is full of
errors introduced by ignorant and unworthy
members — errors which must be carefully
examined and cast aside by degrees. But,
as I said before, it is the only Church which
has the Principles of Electricity within it,
and is therefore destined to live, because
electricity is life.
"■ Now 1 beseech the reader of this
manuscript to which I, Heliobas, append
my hand and seal, to remember and realize
earnestly the following invincible facts :
first, that God and His Christ exist;
secondly, that while the little paltry affairs
of our temporal state are being built up as
crazily as a child's house of cards, the huge
Central Sphere revolves, and the Electric
Ring, strong and indestructible, is ever at
its work of production and re-absorption ;
thirdly, that every thought and word of
every habitant on every planet is reflected
in lightning language before the Creator's
eyes as easily as we receive telegrams ;
I50 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
fourthly, that this world is ^/le only spot
in the Universe where His existence is
actually questioned and doubted. And
the general spread of modern positivism,
materialism and atheism is one of the
most terrific and meaning signs of the
times. The work of separating the wheat
from the chaff is beginning. Those who
love and believe in God and Spiritual
Beauty are about to be placed on one
side ; the millions who worship Self are
drawing together in vast opposing ranks
on the other ; and the moment approaches
which is prophesied to be * as the lightning
that lighteneth out of the one part under
heaven, and shineth even to the other
part.' In other words, the fiery whirlpool
of the Ring is nearly ready to absorb our
planet in its vortex ; and out of all who
dwell upon its surface, how many shall
reach the glorious Central World of God .'^
Of two men working in the same field,
shall it not be as Christ foretold — ' the one
shall be taken, and the other left '}
THE ELECTRIC CREED. 151
'' Friend, Pupil, Reader ! Whoever thou
art, take heed and foster thine own soul !
For know that nothing can hinder the
Immortal Germ within us from taking
the form imposed upon it by our Wills.
Through Love and Faith, it can become
an Angel, and perform wonders even while
in its habitation of clay ; through indiffer-
ence and apathy, it can desert us altogether
and for ever ; through m.ockery and blas-
phemous disbelief, it can sink into even a
lower form than that of snake or toad. In
our own unfettered hand lies our eternal
destiny. Wonderful and terrible responsi-
bility ! Who shall dare to say we have no
need of prayer ?"
This document was signed ''Casimir
Heliobas," and bore a seal on which the
impression seemed to consist of two Arabic
or Sanskrit words, which I could not
understand. I put it carefully away with its
companion MS. under lock and key, and
while I was yet musing earnestly on its
152 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
contents, Zara came into my room. She
had finished her task In the studio, she
said, and she now proposed a drive in the
Bois as an agreeable way of passing the
rest of the afternoon.
*' I want to be as long as possible in
your company," she added, with a caressing
sweetness in her manner ; ** for now your
friends have come to Paris, I expect you
will soon be leaving us, so I must have as
much of you as I can."
My heart sank at the thought of parting
from her, and I looked wistfully at her
lovely face. Leo had followed her in from
the studio, and seemed still very melan-
choly.
"We shall always be good friends, Zara
dearest," I said, ''shall we not? Close,
fond friends, like sisters i^"
" Sisters are not always fond of each
other," remarked Zara, half gaily. " And
you know ' there is a friend that sticketh
closer than a brother '!"
THE ELECTRIC CREED. 153
" And what friend is that m yoicr case ?"
I asked, half jestingly, half curiously.
" Death !" she replied with a strange
smile, in which there was both pathos and
triumph.
I started at her unexpected reply, and a
kind of foreboding chilled my blood. I
endeavoured, however, to speak cheerfully
as I said :
**Why, of course, death sticks more
closely to us than any friend or relative.
But you look fitter to receive the embraces
of life than of death, Zara."
''They are both one and the same
thing," she answered ; " or rather, the one
leads to the other. But do not let us
begin to philosophize. Put on your things
and come. The carriage is waiting."
I readily obeyed her, and we enjoyed an
exhilarating drive together. The rest of
the day passed with us all very pleasantly,
and our conversation had principally to do
with the progress of art and literature in
154 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
many lands, and maintained itself equably
on the level of mundane affairs. Among
other things, we spoke of the Spanish
violinist Sarasate, and I amused Heliobas
by quoting him some of the criticisms of
the London daily papers on this great
artist, such as, ''J7e plays pieces which,
thotigh adapted to show his wonderful skill,
a7^e the veriest clap-trap ;' ^' He lacks breadth
and colour;' ^^ A true type of the artist
virtuoso'' etc., etc.
'* Half these people do not know in the
least what they mean by ' breadth and
colour' or ' virtuosity ^ said Heliobas, with
a smile. " They think emotion, passion,
all true sentiment combined with extra-
ordinary teclmique, must be ' clap-trap.'
Now the Continent of Europe acknow-
ledges Pablo de Sarasate as the first
violinist living, and London would not be
London unless it could thrust an obtuse
opposing opinion in the face of the Con-
tinent. England is the last country in the
THE ELECTRIC CREED. 155
world to accept anything new. Its people
are tired and blase ; like highly trained
circus-horses, they want to trot or gallop
always in the old grooves. It will always
be so. Sarasate is like a brilliant meteor
streaming across their narrow bit of the
heaven of music ; they stare, gape, and
think it is an unnatural phenomenon — a
' virtuosity ' in the way of meteors, which
they are afraid to accept lest it set them
on fire. What would you ? The meteor
shines and burns ; it is always a meteor !"
So, talking lightly, and gliding from
subject to subject, the hours wore away,
and we at last separated for the night.
I shall always be glad to remember
how tenderly Zara kissed me and wished
me good repose ; and I recall now, with
mingled pain, wonder, and gratitude, how
perfectly calm and contented I felt as, after
my prayers, I sank to sleep, unwarned,
and therefore happily unconscious, of what
awaited me on the morrow.
CHAPTER VI,
DEATH BY LIGHTNING.
HE morning of the next day
dawned rather gloomily. A
yellowish fog obscured the air,
and there was a closeness and sultriness
in the atmosphere that was strange for
that wintry season. I had slept well, and
rose with the general sense of ease and
refreshment that I always experienced
since I had been under the treatment of
Heliobas. Those whose unhappy physical
condition causes them to awake from un-
easy slumber feeling almost more fatigued
than when they retired to rest, can scarcely
DEATH BY LIGHTNING. 157
have any idea of the happiness it engenders
to open untired, glad eyes with the morning
Hght ; to feel the very air a nourishment ;
to stand with lithe, rested limbs in the bath
of cool, pure water, finding that limpid
element obediently adding its quota to the
vigour of perfect health ; to tingle from
head to foot with the warm current of life
running briskly through the veins, making
the heart merry ,^ the brain clear, and all
the powers of body and mind in active
working condition. This is indeed most
absolute enjoyment. Add to it the know-
ledge of the existence of one's own Inner
Immortal Spirit — the beautiful germ of
Light In the fostering of which no labour
is ever taken in vain — the living, wondrous
thing that is destined to watch an eternity of
worlds bloom and fade to bloom again, like
flowers, while itself, superior to them all,
shall become ever more strong and radiant
— with these surroundings and prospects,
who shall say life is not worth living ?
158 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
Dear Life ! sweet Moment ! gracious
Opportunity ! brief Journey so well worth
the taking ! gentle Exile so well worth
enduring ! — thy bitterest sorrows are but
blessings in disguise ; thy sharpest pains
are brought upon us by ourselves, and
even then are turned to warnings for our
guidance ; while above us, through us, and
around us radiates the Supreme Love, un-
alterably tender !
These thoughts, and others like them,
all more or less conducive to cheerfulness,
occupied me till I had finished dressing.
Melancholy was now no part of my nature,
otherwise I might have been depressed by
the appearance of the weather and the
murkiness of the air. But since I learned
the simple secrets of physical electricity,
atmospheric influences have had no effect
upon the equable poise of my temperament
— a fact for which I cannot be too grateful,
seeing how many of my fellow-creatures
permit themselves to be affected by changes
DEATH BY LIGHTNING. 159
in the wind, intense heat, intense cold, or
other things of the Hke character.
I went down to breakfast, singing softly
on my way, and I found Zara already
seated at the head of her table, while
Heliobas was occupied in reading and
sorting a pile of letters that lay beside his
plate. Both greeted me with their usual
warmth and heartiness.
During the repast, however, the brother
and sister were strangely silent, and once
or twice I fancied that Zara's eyes filled with
tears, though she smiled again so quickly
and radiantly that I felt I was mistaken.
A piece of behaviour on the part of Leo,
too, filled me with dismay. He had been
lying quietly at his master's feet for some
time, when he suddenly arose, sat upright,
and, lifting his nose in air, uttered a most
prolonged and desolate howl. Anything
more thoroughly heart-broken and despair-
ing than that cry I have never heard.
After he had concluded it, the poor animal
i6o A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
seemed ashamed of what he had done,
and, creeping meekly along, with drooping
head and tail, he kissed his master's hand,
then mine, and lastly Zara's. Finally, he
went into a distant corner and lay down
again, as if his feelings were altogether too
much for him.
^' Is he ill ?" I asked pityingly.
'' I think not," replied Heliobas. '* The
weather is peculiar to-day — close, and
almost thunderous ; dogs are very suscep-
tible to such changes."
At that moment the page entered bear-
ing a silver salver, on which lay a letter,
which he handed to his master and imme-
diately retired.
Heliobas opened and read it.
*' Ivan regrets he cannot dine with us
to-day," he said, glancing at his sister;
*' he is otherwise engaged. He says, how-
ever, that he hopes to have the pleasure
of looking in during the latter part of the
evening."
DEATH BY LIGHTNING. i6i
Zara inclined her head gently, and made
no other reply.
A few seconds afterwards we rose from
table, and Zara, linking her arm through
mine, said :
*' I want to have a talk with you while
we can be alone. Come to my room."
We went upstairs together, followed by
the wise yet doleful Leo, who seemed de-
termined not to let his mistress out of his
sight. When we arrived at our destination,
Zara pushed me gently into an easy-chair,
and seated herself in another one opposite.
'' I am going to ask a favour of you,"
she began ; '' because I know you will do
anything to please me or Casimir. Is it
not so ?"
I assured her she might rely upon my
observing with the truest fidelity any
request of hers, small or great.
She thanked me and resumed :
*' You know I have been working
secretly in my studio for some time past.
VOL. II. 31
i62 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS,
I have been occupied in the execution of
two designs — one is finished, and is in-
tended as a gift to Casimir. The'other " —
she hesitated — " is incomplete. It is the
colossal figure which was veiled when you
first came in to see my little statue of
' Evening! I made an attempt beyond my
powers — in short, I cannot carry out the
idea to my satisfaction. Now, dear, pay
great attention to what I say. I have
reason to believe that I shall be compelled
to take a sudden journey — promise me
that when I am gone you will see that
unfinished statue completely destroyed — ■
demolished Into powder."
I could not answer her for a minute or
two, I was so surprised by her words.
" Going on a journey, Zara ?" I said.
^' Well, if you are, I suppose you will soon
return home again ; and why should your
statue be destroyed In the meantime ?
You may yet be able to bring It to final
perfection.'*
DEATH BY LIGHTNING. 163
Zara shook her head and smiled half
sadly.
" I told you It was a favour I had to ask
of you," she said ; ** and now you are un-
willing to grant it."
" I am not unwilling — believe me,
dearest, I would do anything to please
you," I assured her ; *' but It seems so
strange to me that you should wish the
result of your labour destroyed, simply
because you are going on a journey."
*' Strange as It seems, I desire it most
earnestly," said Zara; ''otherwise — but if
you will not see It done for me, I must
preside at the work of demolition myself,
though I frankly confess it would be most
painful to me."
I interrupted her.
" Say no more, Zara !" I exclaimed ; " I
will do as you wish. When you are gone,
you say "
"When I am gone," repeated Zara
firmly, " and before you yourself leave this
.^1—2
i64 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
house, you will see that particular statue
destroyed. You will thus do me a very
great service."
"Well," I said, ''and when are you
coming back again ? Before I leave
Paris ?"
*' I hope so — I think so," she replied
evasively ; "at any rate, we shall meet
again soon."
" Where are you going ?" I asked.
She smiled. Such a lovely, glad, and
triumphant smile !
" You will know my destination before
to-night has passed away," she answered.
"In the meanwhile, I have your pro-
mise ?
" Most certainly."
She kissed me, and as she did so, a
lurid flash caught my eyes and almost
dazzled them. It was a gleam of fiery
lustre from the electric jewel she wore.
The day went on its usual course, and
the weather seemed to grow murkier every
DEATH BY LIGHTNING. 165
hour. The air was almost sultry, and
when during the afternoon I went into the
conservatory to gather some of the glorious
Marechal Niel roses that grew there in
such perfection, the intense heat of the
place was nearly insupportable. I saw
nothing of Heliobas all day, and after the
morning, very little of Zara. She dis-
appeared soon after luncheon, and I could
not find her in her rooms nor in her studio,
though I knocked at the door several
times. Leo, too, was missing. After
being alone for an hour or more, I thought
I would pay a visit to the chapel. But on
attempting to carry out this intention I
found its doors locked — an unusual circum-
stance which rather surprised me. Fancy-
ing that I heard the sounds of voices
within, I paused to listen. But all was
profoundly silent. Strolling into the hall,
I took up at random from a side-table
a little volume of poems, unknown to me,
called '' Pygmalion in Cyprus ;" and seating
t66 a romance of TWO WORLDS.
myself in one of the luxurious Oriental
easy-chairs near the silvery sparkling
fountain, I began to read. I opened the
book I held at '* A Ballad of Kisses,"
which ran as follows :
" There are three kisses that I call to mind.
And I will sing their secrets as I go, —
The first, a kiss too courteous to be kind,
Was such a kiss as monks and maidens know.
As sharp as frost, as blameless as the snow.
" The second kiss, ah God ! I feel it yet, —
And evermore my soul will loathe the same, —
The toys and joys of fate I may forget.
But not the touch of that divided shame ;
It clove my hps — it burnt me like a flame.
" The third, the final kiss, is one I use
Morning and noon and night, and not amiss.
Sorrow be mine if such I do refuse !
And when I die, be Love enrapt in bliss
Re-sanctified in heaven by such a kiss !"
This little gem, which I read and re-read
with pleasure, was only one of many in the
same collection. The author was assuredly
a man of genius. I studied his word-
melodies with intense interest, and noted
with some surprise how - original and
DEATH BY LIGHTNING. 167
beautiful were many of his fancies and
similes. I say I noted them with surprise,
because he was evidently a modern
Englishman, and yet unlike any other of
his writing species. His name was not
Alfred Tennyson, nor Edwin Arnold, nor
Matthew Arnold, nor Austin Dobson, nor
Martin Tupper. He was neither plagi-
arist nor translator — he was actually an
original man. I do not give his name
here, as I consider it the duty of his own
country to find him out and acknowledge
him, which, as It is so proud of its literary
standing, of course it will do In due season.
On this, my first introduction to his poems,
I became speedily absorbed In them, and
was repeating to myself softly a verse
which I remember now :
" Hers was sweetest of sweet faces.
Hers the tenderest eyes of all ;
In her hair she had the traces
Of a heavenly coronal.
Bringing sunshine to sad places
Where the sunlight could not fall.'
i68 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS,
Then I was startled by the sound of a
clock striking six. I bethought myself of
the people who were coming to dinner, and
decided to go to my room and dress. Re-
placing the *' Pygmalion " book on the
table whence I had taken it, I made my
way upstairs, thinking as I went of Zara
and her strange request, and wondering
what journey she was going upon.
I could not come to any satisfactory
conclusion on this point ; besides, I had a
curious disinclination to think about it very
earnestly, though the subject kept recurring
to my mind. Yet always some inward
monitor seemed to assure me, as plainly as
though the words were spoken in my ear :
'* It is useless for you to consider the
reason of this, or the meaning of that.
Take things as they come in due order ; one
circumstance explains the other, and every-
thing is always for the best."
I prepared my Indian crepe dress for the
evening, the same I had worn for Madame
DEATH BY LIGHTNING. 169
DIdler's party at Cannes ; only, instead of
having lilies of the valley to ornament it
with, I arranged some dusters of the
Marechal Niel roses I had gathered from
the conservatory — lovely blossoms, with
their dewy pale-gold centres forming per-
fect cups of delicious fragrance. These,
relieved by a few delicate sprays of the
maidenhair fern, formed a becoming finish
to my simple costume. As I arrayed my-
self, and looked at my own reflection in
the long mirror, I smiled out of sheer
gratitude. For health, joyous and vigorous,
sparkled in my eyes, glowed on my cheeks,
tinted my lips, and rounded my figure.
The face that looked back at me from the
glass was a perfectly happy one, ready to
dimple into glad mirth or bright laughter.
No shadow of pain or care remained upon
it to remind me of past suffering, and I
murmured half aloud : *' Thank God !"
** Amen !" said a soft voice, and, turning
round, I saw Zara.
lyo A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
But how shall I describe her ? No
words can adequately paint the glorious
beauty in which, that night, she seemed to
move as in an atmosphere of her own
creating. She wore a clinging robe of the
richest, softest white satin, caught in at the
waist by a zone of pearls — pearls which,
from their size and purity, must have been
priceless. Her beautiful neck and arms
were bare, and twelve rows of pearls were
clasped round her slender throat, support-
ing in their centre the electric stone, which
shone with a soft, subdued radiance, like
the light of the young moon. Her rich,
dark hair was arranged in its usual fashion
— that is, hanging down in one thick plait,
which on this occasion was braided
in and out with small pearls. On her
bosom she wore a magnificent cluster of
natural orange-blossoms ; and of these,
while I gazed admiringly at her, I first
spoke :
** You look like a bride, Zara ! You
DEATH BY LIGHTNING. 171
have all the outward signs of one — white
satin, pearls, and orange-blossoms !"
She smiled.
" They are the first cluster that has come
out in our conservatory," she said ; " and I
could not resist them. As for the pearls,
they belonged to my mother, and are my
favourite ornaments ; and white satin is
now no longer exclusively for brides. How
soft and pretty that Indian crepe is ! Your
toilette is charming, and suits you to per-
fection. Are you quite ready ?"
" Quite," I answered.
She hesitated and sighed. Then she
raised her lovely eyes with a sort of wistful
tenderness.
" Before we go down I should like you
to kiss me once," she said.
I embraced her fondly, and our lips met
with a lingering sisterly caress.
" You will never forget me, will you ?"
she asked almost anxiously; '' never cease
to think of me kindly ?"
172 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS,
"How fanciful you are to-night, Zara
dear !" I said. " As if I could forget you !
I shall always think of you as the loveliest
and sweetest woman in the world."
" And when I am out of the world —
what then ?" she pursued.
Remembering her spiritual sympathies,
I answered at once :
" Even then I shall know you to be one
of the fairest of the angels. So you see,
Zara darling, I shall always love you."
'' I think you will," she said meditatively ;
**you are one of us. But come! I hear
voices downstairs. I think our expected
guests have arrived, and we must be in
the drawing-room to receive them. Good-
bye, little friend !" And she again kissed
me.
" Good-bye !" I repeated in astonish-
ment ; " why ^ good-bye ' ?'*
*' Because it is my fancy to say the word,"
she replied with quiet firmness. ** Again,
dear little friend, good-bye !"
DEATH BY LIGHTNING. 173
I felt bewildered, but she would not give
me time to utter another syllable. She
took my hand and hurried me with her
downstairs, and in another moment we
were both in the drawing-room, receiving
and saying polite nothings to the Everards
and Challoners, who had all arrived to-
gether, resplendent in evening costume.
Amy Everard, I thought, looked a little
tired and fagged, though she rejoiced in a
superb "arrangement" by Worth of ruby
velvet and salmon-pink. But, though a
perfect dress is consoling to most women,
there are times when even that fails of its
effect ; and then Worth ceases to loom
before the feminine eye as a sort of demi-
god, but dwindles insignificantly to the
level of a mere tailor, whose prices are
ruinous. And this, I think, was the state
of mind in which Mrs. Everard found her-
self that evening ; or else she was a trifle
jealous of Zara's harmonious grace and love-
liness. Be this as it may, she was irritable,
174 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
and whisperlngly found fault with me for
being in such good health.
'* You will have too much colour if you
don't take care," she said almost pettishly,
'' and nothing is so unfashionable."
" I know !" I replied with due meekness.
*' It is very bad style to be quite well — it is
almost improper."
She looked at me, and a glimmering
smile lighted her features. But she
would not permit herself to become good-
humoured, and she furled and unfurled her
fan of pink ostrich feathers with some im-
patience.
'^ Where did that child get all those
pearls from ?" she next inquired, with a
gesture of her head towards Zara.
"They belonged to her mother," I
answered, smiling as I heard Zara called
a ckz/d, knowing, as I did, her real age.
" She is actually wearing a small fortune
on her person," went on Amy ; *' I wonder
her brother allows her. Girls never under-
DEATH BY LIGHTNING. 175
stand the value of things of that sort.
They should be kept for her till she is old
enough to appreciate them."
I made no reply ; I was absorbed in
watching Heliobas, who at that moment
entered the room accompanied by Father
Paul. He greeted his guests with warmth
and unaffected heartiness, and all present
were, I could see, at once fascinated by the
dignity of his presence and the charm of
his manner. To an uninstructed eye there
was nothing unusual about him ; but to me
there was a change in his expression which,
as it were, warned and startled me. A deep
shadow of anxiety in his eyes made them
look more sombre and less keen ; his smile
was not so sweet as it was stern, and there
was an undefinable something in his very
bearing that suggested — what ? Defiance ?
Yes. defiance ; and it was this which, when
I had realized it, curiously alarmed me.
For what had he, Heliobas, to do with
even the thought of defiance .^ Did not all
176 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
his power come from the knowledge of the
necessity of obedience to the spiritual
powers within and without ? Quick as
light the words spoken to me by Azul
egarding him came back to my remem-
brance : *' Even as he is my Beloved, so
let him not fail to hear my voice." What
if he should fail ? A kind of instinct
came upon me that some Immediate
danger of this threatened him, and I
braced myself up to a firm determination
that, if this was so, I, out of my deep
gratitude to him, would do my utmost best
to warn him in time. While these thoughts
possessed me, the hum of gay conversation
went on, and Zara's bright laughter ever
and again broke like music on the air.
Father Paul, too, proved himself to be of
quite a festive and jovial disposition, for he
made himself agreeable to Mrs. Challoner
and her daughters, and entertained them
with the ease and bonhomie of an accom-
plished courtier and man of the world.
DEATH BY LIGHTNING. 177
Dinner was announced in the usual way
— that is, with the sound of music played
by the electric instrument devoted to that
purpose, a performance which elicited
much admiration from all the guests.
Heliobas led the way into the dining-
room with Mrs. Everard ; Colonel Eve-
rard followed, with Zara on one arm and
the eldest Miss Challoner on the other ;
Mr. Challoner and myself came next ; and
Father Paul, with Mrs. Challoner and her
other daughter Effie, brought up the rear.
There was a universal murmur of surprise
and deliofht as the dinner-table came in
view ; and its arrangement was indeed a
triumph of art. In the centre was placed a
large round of crystal in imitation of a lake,
and on this apparently floated a beautiful
gondola steered by the figure of a gon-
dolier, both exquisitely wrought in fine
Venetian glass. The gondola was piled
high with a cargo of roses; but the wonder
of it all was, that the whole design was
VOL. II. 32
1 78 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
lit up by electricity. Electric sparkles,
like drops of dew, shone on the leaves of
the flowers ; the gondola was lit from end
to end with electric stars, which were
reflected with prismatic brilliancy in the
crystal below ; the gondolier's long pole
glittered with what appeared to be drops
of water tinged by the moonlight, but
which was really an electric wire, and in
his cap flashed an electric diamond. The
whole ornament scintillated and glowed
like a marvellous piece of curiously con-
trived jewel-work. And this was not all.
Beside every guest at table a slender vase,
shaped like a long-stemmed Nile lily, held
roses and ferns, in which were hidden tiny
electric stars, causing the blossoms to shine
with a transparent and almost fairy-like
lustre.
Four graceful youths, clad in the Arme-
nian costume, stood waiting silently round
the table till all present were seated,
and then they commenced the business of
DEATH BY LIGHTNING. 179
serving the viands, with swift and noiseless
dexterity. As soon as the soup was handed
round, tongues were loosened, and the
Challoners, who had been gazing at every-
thing In almost open-mouthed astonish-
ment, began to relieve their feelings by
warm expressions of unqualified admira-
tion, In which Colonel and Mrs. Everard
were not slow to join.
'* I do say, and I will say, this beats all
Tve ever seen," said good Mrs. Challoner
as she bent to examine the glittering vase
of flowers near her plate. ''And this Is
real electric light } And Is It perfectly
harmless ?"
Hellobas smilingly assured her of the
safety of his table decorations.
" Electricity," he said, " though the most
powerful of masters. Is the most docile of
slaves. It Is capable of the smallest as
well as of the greatest uses. It can give
with equal certainty life or death ; In fact,
it Is the key-note of creation."
^2 — 2
i8o A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
'Ms that your theory, sir?" asked
Colonel Everard.
" It is not only my theory," answered
Heliobas, " It Is a truth, Indisputable and
unalterable, to those who have studied the
mysteries of electric science."
'* And do you base all your medical
treatment on this principle ?" pursued the
Colonel.
** Certainly. Your young friend here,
who came to me from Cannes, looking as
If she had but a few months to live, can
bear witness to the efficacy of my method."
Every eye was now turned upon me, and
I looked up and laughed.
'* Do you remember, Amy," I said,
addressing Mrs. Everard, ''how you told
me I looked like a sick nun at Cannes ?
What do I look like now ?"
"You look as If you had never been 111
In your life," she replied.
'' I was going to say," remarked Mr.
Challoner In his deliberate manner, " that
DEATH BY LIGHTNING. i8i
you remind me very much of a small
painting of Diana that I saw in the
Louvre the other day. You have the
same sort of elasticity in your movements,
and the same bright healthy eyes."
I bowed, still smiling. " I did not know
you were such a flatterer, Mr. Challoner !
Diana thanks you !"
The conversation now became general,
and turned, among other subjects, upon
the growing reputation of Raffaello Cellini.
"What surprises me in that young
man," said Colonel Everard, *' is his
colouring. It is simply marvellous. He
was amiable enough to present me with
a little landscape scene ; and the effect of
light upon it is so powerfully done that
you would swear the sun was actually
shining through it."
The fine sensitive mouth of Heliobas
curved in a somewhat sarcastic smile.
'* Mere trickery, my dear sir — a piece of
clap-trap," he said lighdy. *' That is what
i82 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS,
would be said of such pictures — in England
at least. And it zaiVl be said by many
oracular long-established newspapers, while
Cellini lives. As soon as he is dead — ah !
ces^ autre chose ! — he will then most pro-
bably be acknowledged the greatest master
of the age. There may even be a Cellini
' School of Colouring,' where a select com-
pany of daubers will profess to know the
secret that has died with him. It is the
way of the world !"
Mr. Challoner's rugged face showed
signs of satisfaction, and his shrewd eyes
twinkled.
** Right you are, sir !" he said, holding
up his glass of wine. *' I drink to you !
Sir, I agree with you! I calculate there's
a good many worlds flying round in space,
but a more ridiculous, feeble-minded, con-
trary sort of world than this one, I defy
any archangel to find !"
Heliobas laughed, nodded, and after a
slight pause resumed :
DEATH BY LIGHTNING. 183
" It is astonishing to me that people do
not see to what an infinite number of uses
they could put the little re-discovery they
have made of /umznoics paint. In that
simple thing there is a secret, which as
yet they do not guess — a wonderful,
beautiful, scientific secret, which may per-
haps take them a few hundred years to
find out. In the meantime they have got
hold of one end of the thread ; they can
make luminous paint, and with it they can
paint light-houses, and, what is far more
important — ships. Vessels in mid-ocean
will have no more need of fog-signals and
different-coloured lamps ; their own coat of
paint will be sufficient to light them safely
on their way. Even rooms can be so
painted as to be perfectly luminous at
night. A friend of mine, residing in Italy,
has a luminous ball-room, where the ceiling
is decorated with a moon and stars in
electric light. The effect is exceedingly
lovely ; and though people think a great
i84 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
deal of money must have been laid out
upon it, it is perhaps the only great ball-
room in Italy that has been really cheaply
fitted up. But, as I said before, there is
another secret behind the invention or
discovery of luminous paint — a secret
which, when once unveiled, will revolu-
tionize all the schools of art in the world."
^* Do you know this secret ?" asked Mrs.
Challoner.
" Yes, madame — perfectly."
" Then why don't you disclose it for
the benefit of everybody?" demanded Effie
Challoner.
'' Because, my dear young lady, no one
would believe me if I did. The time is
not yet ripe for it. The world must wait
till its people are better educated."
'* Better educated 1" exclaimed Mrs.
Everard. '' Why, there is nothing talked
of nowadays but education and progress 1
The very children are wiser than their
parents !"
DEATH BY LIGHTNING. 185
" The children !" returned HeHobas, half
inquiringly, half indignantly. " At the rate
things are going, there will soon be no
children left ; they will all be tired little
old men and women before they are in
their teens. The very babes will be born
old. Many of them are being brought up
without any faith in God or religion ; the
result will be an increase of vice and crime.
The purblind philosophers, miscalled wise
men, who teach the children by the light
of poor human reason only, and do away
with faith in spiritual things, are bringing
down upon the generations to come an un-
looked-for and most terrific curse; Child-
hood, the happy, innocent, sweet, unthink-
ing, almost angelic age, at which Nature
would have us believe in fairies and all the
delicate aerial fancies of poets, who are,
after all, the only true sages — childhood, I
say, is being gradually stamped out under
the cruel iron heel of the Period — a period
not of wisdom, health, or beauty, but one
i86 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
of drunken delirium, in which the world
rushes feverishly along, its eyes fixed on
one hard, glittering, stony-featured idol —
Gold. Education ! Is it education to teach
the young that their chances of happiness
depend on being richer than their neigh-
bours ? Yet that is what it all tends to.
Get on ! — be successful ! Trample on
others, but push forward yourself! Money,
money ! — let its chink be your music ; let
its yellow shine be fairer than the eyes of
love or friendship ! Let its piles accumu-
late and ever accumulate ! There are
beggars in the streets, but they are hum-
bugs ; there is poverty in many places, but
why seek to relieve it ? Why lessen the
sparkling heaps of gold by so much as a
coin ? Accumulate and ever accumulate !
Live so, and then — die ! And then — who
knows what then ?"
His voice had been full of ringing
eloquence as he spoke, but at these last
words it sank into a low, thrilling tone of
DEATH BY LIGHTNING. 187
solemnity and earnestness. We all looked
at him, fascinated by his manner, and were
silent.
Mr. Challoner was the first to break the
impressive pause.
'' I'm not a speaker, sir," he observed
slowly, '* but I've got a good deal of feel-
ing somewheres ; and you'll allow me to
say that I feel your words — I think they're
right true. I've often wanted to say what
you've said, but haven't seen my way clear
to it. Anyhow, I've had a very general
impression about me that what we call
Society has of late years been going, per
express service, direct to the devil — if the
ladies will excuse me for plain speaking.
And as the journey is being taken by
choice and free-will, I suppose there's no
hindrance or stoppage possible. Besides,
it's a downward line, and curiously free
from obstructions."
" Bravo, John !" exclaimed Mrs. Chal-
loner. ** You are actually coming out ! I
i88 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
never heard you Indulge in similes
before."
'' Well, my dear/' returned her husband,
somewhat gratified, ''better late than never.
A simile is a good thing if it isn't over-
crowded. For instance, Mr. Swinburne's
similes are laid on too thick sometimes.
There is a verse of his which, with all my
admiration for him, I never could quite
fathom. It is where he earnestly desires
to be as 'anj' leaf of any tree ; or, failing
that, he wouldn't mind becoming * as bones
under the deep, sharp sea' I tried hard to
see the point of that, but couldn't fix it."
We all laughed. Zara, I thought, was
especially merry, and looked her loveliest.
She made an excellent hostess, and exerted
herself to the utmost to charm — an effort
in which she easily succeeded.
The shadow on the face of her brother
had not disappeared, and once or twice I
Jioticed that Father Paul looked at him
with a certain kindly anxiety.
DEATH BY LIGHTNING. 189
The dinner approached its end. The
dessert, with its luxurious dishes of rare
fruit, such as peaches, plantains, hothouse
grapes, and even strawberries, was served,
and with it a delicious sparkling topaz-
tinted wine of Eastern origin called Kriila,
which was poured out to us in Venetian
glass goblets, wherein lay diamond-like
lumps of ice. The air was so exceedingly
oppressive that evening that we found this
beverage most refreshing. When Zara's
goblet was filled, she held it up smiling,
and said :
"I have a toast to propose."
" Hear, hear !" murmured the gentlemen,
Heliobas excepted.
'' To our next merry meeting !" and as
she said this she kissed the rim of the cup,
and made a sign as though wafting it to-
wards her brother.
He started as if from a reverie, seized
his glass, and drained off its contents to
the last drop.
I90 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
Everyone responded with heartiness to
Zara's toast, and then Colonel Everard
proposed the health of the fair hostess,
which was drunk with enthusiasm.
After this Zara gave the signal, and all
the ladies rose to adjourn to the drawing-
room. As I passed Heliobas on my way
out, he looked so sombre and almost
threatening of aspect, that I ventured to
whisper :
" Remember Azul !"
" She has forgotten me /" he muttered.
''Never — never I" I said earnestly.
'' Oh, Heliobas ! what is wrong with
you :
He made no answer, and there was no
opportunity to say more, as I had to follow
Zara. But I felt very anxious, though I
scarcely knew why, and I lingered at the
door and glanced back at him. As I did
so, a low, rumbling sound, like chariot-
wheels rolling afar off, broke suddenly on
our ears.
DEATH BY LIGHTNING. 191
*' Thunder," remarked Mr. Challoner
quietly. " I thought we should have It.
It has been unnaturally warm all day. A
ofood storm will clear the air."
In my brief backward look at Heliobas,
I noted that when that far-distant thunder
sounded, he grew very pale. Why ? He
was certainly not one to have any dread
of a storm — he was absolutely destitute of
fear. I went Into the drawing-room with
a hesitating step — my Instincts were all
awake and beginning to warn me, and I
murmured softly a prayer to that strong,
invisible majestic spirit which I knew must
be near me — my guardian angel. I was
answered instantly — my foreboding grew
into a positive certainty that some danger
menaced Heliobas, and that If I desired
to be his friend, I must be prepared for an
emergency. Receiving this, as all such
impressions should be received, as a direct
message sent me for my guidance, I grew
calmer, and braced up my energies to
192 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
oppose something, though I knew not
what.
Zara was showing her lady-vIsItors a
large album of Italian photographs, and
explaining them as she turned the leaves.
As I entered the room, she said eagerly
to me :
'* Play to us, dear ! Something soft and
plaintive. We all delight in your music,
you know."
" Did you hear the thunder just now ?"
I asked irrelevantly.
'' It was thunder ?^ I thought so I" said
Mrs. Everard. '* Oh, I do hope there is
not going to be a storm ! I am so afraid
of a storm !"
"You are nervous.^" questioned Zara
kindly, as she engaged her attention with
some very fine specimens among the
photographs, consisting of views from
Venice.
•' Well, I suppose I am," returned Amy,
half laughing. '' Yet I am plucky about
DEATH BY LIGHTNING. 193
most things, too. Still I don't like to hear
the elements quarrelling together — they are
too much in earnest about it — and no
person can pacify them."
Zara smiled, and gently repeated her
request to me for some music — a request
in which Mrs. Challoner and her daughters
eagerly joined. As I went to the piano I
thought of Edgar Allen Poe's exquisite
poem :
" In Heaven a spirit doth dwell,
Whose heart-strings are a lute ;
None sing so wildly well
As the angel Israfel,
And the giddy stars, so legends tell.
Ceasing their hymns, attend the spell
Of his voice — all mute."
As I poised my fingers above the keys of
the instrument, another long, low, ominous
roll of thunder swept up from the distance
and made the room tremble.
'' Play — play, for goodness' sake !" ex-
claimed Mrs. Everard ; " and then we shall
VOL. II. :^^
194 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
not be obliged to fix our attention on the
approaching storm !"
I played a few soft opening arpeggio
passages, while Zara seated herself in an
easy-chair near the window, and the other
ladies arranged themselves on sofas and
ottomans to their satisfaction. The room
was exceedingly close ; and the scent of
the flowers that were placed about in pro-
fusion was almost too sweet and over-
powering.
" And they say (the starry choir
And the other listening things)
That Israfeh's fire
Is owing to that lyre.
By which he sits and sings, —
The trembling living wire
Of those unusual strings."
How these verses haunted me ! With
them floating in my mind, I played —
losing myself in mazes of melody, and
travelling harmoniously In and out of the
different keys with that sense of perfect joy
known only to those who can improvise
DEATH BY LIGHTNING. 195
with ease, and catch the unwritten music
of nature, which always appeals most
strongly to emotions that are unspoilt by
contact with the world, and which are
quick to respond to what is purely in-
stinctive art. I soon became thoroughly
absorbed, and forgot that there were any
persons present. In fancy I imagined
myself again in view of the glory of the
Electric Ring — again I seemed to behold
the opaline radiance of the Central Sphere :
" Where Love's a grown-up Ood,
Where the Houri glances are
Imbued with all the beauty
Which we worship in a star."
By-and-by I found my fingers at the
work of tenderly unravelling a little skein
of major melody, as soft and childlike as
the innocent babble of a small brooklet
flowing under ferns. I followed this airy
suggestion obediently, till it led me of
itself to its fitting end, when I ceased play-
ing. I was greeted by a little burst of
196 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
applause, and looking up, saw that all the
gentlemen had come in from the dining-
room, and were standing near me. The
stately figure of Heliobas was the most
prominent in the group ; he stood erect,
one hand resting lightly on the framework
of the piano, and his eyes met mine fixedly.
''You were inspired," he said with a
grave smile, addressing me ; " you did not
observe our entrance."
I was about to reply, when a loud, ap-
palling crash of thunder rattled above us,
as if some huge building had suddenly
fallen into ruins. It startled us all into
silence for a moment, and we looked into
each other's faces with a certain degree of
awe.
" That was a good one," remarked Mr.
Challoner. " There was nothing undecided
about that clap. Its mind was made up."
Zara suddenly rose from her seat, and
drew aside the window-curtains.
" I wonder if it is raining," she said.
DEATH BY LIGHTNING. 197
Amy Everard uttered a little shriek of
dismay.
" Oh, don't open the blinds !" she ex-
claimed. '' It is really dangerous*!"
Heliobas glanced at her with a little
sarcastic smile.
" Take a seat on the other side of the
room, if you are alarmed, madame," he
said quietly, placing a chair in the position
he suggested, which Amy accepted eagerly.
She would, I believe, have gladly taken
refuge in the coal-cellar had he offered it.
Zara, in the meantime, who had not heard
Mrs. Everard's exclamation of fear, had
drawn up one of the blinds, and stood
silently looking out upon the night. In-
stinctively we all joined her, with the
exception of Amy, and looked out also.
The skies were very dark ; a faint, moan-
ing wind stirred the tops of the leafless
trees ; but there was no rain. A dry
volcanic heat pervaded the atmosphere —
in fact we felt the air so stifling, that Heli-
198 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
obas threw open the window altogether,
saying, as he did so :
" In a thunderstorm, it is safer to have
the windows open than shut ; besides, one
cannot suffocate."
A brilHant glare of light flashed suddenly
upon our vision. The heavens seemed
torn open from end to end, and a broad
lake of pale blue fire lay quivering in the
heart of the mountainous black clouds —
for a second only. An on-rushing, ever-
increasing, rattling roar of thunder ensued,
that seemed to shake the: very earth, and
all was again darkness.
''This is magnificent!" cried Mrs. Chal-
loner, who, with her family, had travelled
a great deal, and was quite accustomed to
hurricanes and other inconveniences caused
by the unaccommodating behaviour of the
elements. " I don't think I ever saw any-
thing like it I John dear, even that storm
we saw at Chamounix was not any better
than this.''
DEATH BY LIGHTNING. 199
*' Well," returned her husband medita-
tively, *'you see we had the snow moun-
tains there, and the effect was pretty lively.
Then there were the echoes — those
cavernous echoes were grand ! What was
that passage in Job, Effie, that I used to
say they reminded me of ?"
" * The pillars of heaven tremble, and
are astonished at His reproof . . . The
thunder of His power, who can under-
stand ?' " replied Effie Challoner reverently.
"That's it!" he replied. " I opine that
Job was pretty correct in his ideas — don't
you, reverend sir ?" turning to Father
Paul.
The priest nodded, and held up his
finger warningly.
*' That lady — Mrs. Everard — is going to
sing or play, I think," he observed. '' Shall
we not keep silence ?"
I looked towards Amy in some surprise.
I knew she sang very prettily, but I had
thought she was rendered too nervous by
200 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
the storm to do aught than sit quiet in her
chair. However, there she was at the
piano, and in another moment her fresh,
sweet mezzo-soprano rang softly through
the room in Tosti's plaintive song, ** Good-
bye !" We listened, but none of us moved
from the open window where we still in-
haled what air there was, and watched the
lowering sky.
" Hush ! a voice from the far-away,
* Listen and learn,' it seems to say ;
' All the to-morrows shall be as to-day,' "
sang Amy with pathetic sweetness. Zara
suddenly moved, as if oppressed, from her
position among us as we stood clustered
together, and stepped out through the
French windows into the outside balcony,
her head uncovered to the night.
" You will catch cold !" Mrs. Challoner
and I both called to her simultaneously. She
shook her head, smiling back at us ; and,
folding her arms lightly on the stone balus-
DEATH BY LIGHTNING.
trade, leaned there and looked up at the
clouds.
" The link must break, and the lamp must die ;
Good-bye to Hope ! Good-bye — good-bye !"
Amy's voice was a peculiarly thrilling
one, and on this occasion sounded with
more than its usual tenderness. What
with her singing and the invisible presence
of the storm, an utter silence possessed us
— not one of us cared to move.
Heliobas once stepped to his sister's
side in the open balcony, and said some-
thing, as I thought, to warn her against
taking cold ; but It was a very brief whisper,
and he almost Immediately returned to his
place amongst us. Zara looked very lovely
out there ; the light coming from the
interior of the room glistened softly on the
sheen of her satin dress and its ornaments
of pearls ; and the electric stone on her bosom
shone faintly like a star on a rainy evening.
Her beautiful face, turned upwards to the
202 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS,
angry sky, was half in light and half in
shade ; a smile parted her lips, and her
eyes were bright with a look of interest
and expectancy. Another sudden glare,
and the clouds were again broken asunder ;
but this time in a jagged and hasty manner,
as though a naked sword had been thrust
through them and immediately withdrawn.
'' That was a nasty flash," said Colonel
Everard, with an observant glance at the
lovely Juliet-like figure on the balcony.
" Mademoiselle, had you not better come
in ?"
" When it begins to rain I will come in,"
she said, without changing her posture. " I
hear the singing so well out here. Besides,
I love the storm.'^
A tumultuous crash of thunder, tre-
mendous for its uproar and the length of
time it was prolonged, made us look at
each other again with anxious faces.
" What are we waiting for ? Oh, my heart !
Kiss me straight on the brows and part !
DEATH BY LIGHTNING. 205
Again ! again, my heart, my heart !
What are we waiting for, you and I ?
A pleading look— a stifled cry !
Good-bye for ever "
Horror ! — what was that ? A Hthe swift
serpent of fire twisting venomously through
the dark heavens ? Zara raised her arms,
looked up, smiled, and fell — senseless !
With such appalling suddenness that we
had scarcely recovered from the blinding
terror of that forked lightning-flash, when
we saw her lying prone before us on the
balcony where one instant before she had
stood erect and smiling ! With exclama-
tions of alarm and distress we lifted and
bore her within the room, and laid her
tenderly down upon the nearest sofa. At
that moment a deafening, terrific thunder-
clap— one only — as if a huge bombshell
had burst in the air, shook the ground
under our feet ; and then, with a swish and
swirl of long pent-up and suddenly-released
wrath, down came the rain.
204 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
Amy's voice died away in a last '^ Good-
bye !" and she rushed from the piano, with
pale face and trembling lips, gasping out :
" What has happened ? What Is the
matter ?"
" She has been stunned by a lightning-
flash," I said, trying to speak calmly, while
I loosened Zara's dress and sprinkled her
forehead with eau de Cologne from a
scent-bottle Mrs. Challoner had handed to
me. '' She will recover in a few minutes."
But my limbs trembled under me, and
tears, in spite of myself, forced their way
Into my eyes.
Heliobas meanwhile — his countenance
white and set as a marble mask — shut
the window fiercely, pulled down the
blind and drew the heavy silken curtains
close. He then approached his sister's
senseless form, and, taking her wrist ten-
derly, felt for her pulse. We looked on In
the deepest anxiety. The Challoner girls
shivered with terror, and began to cry.
DEATH BY LIGHTNING. 205
Mrs. Everard, with more self-possession,
clipped a handkerchief in cold water and
laid It on Zara's temples ; but no faint sigh
parted the set yet smiling lips — no sign of
life was visible. All this while the rain
swept down in gusty torrents and rattled
furiously against the window-panes ; while
the wind, no longer a moan, had risen into
a shriek, as of baffled yet vindictive anger.
At last Heliobas spoke.
" I should be glad of other medical skill
than my own," he said, in low and stifled
accents. " This may be a long fainting-
fit."
Mr. Challoner at once proffered his
services.
*' I'll go for you anywhere you like," he
said cheerily ; *' and I think my wife and
daughters had better come with me. Our
carriage is sure to be in waiting. It will
be necessary for the lady to have perfect
quiet when she recovers, and visitors are
best away. You need not be alarmed, I
2o6 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
am sure. By her colour it is evident she
is only in a swoon. What doctor shall I
send ?"
Heliobas named one Dr. Morini, lo,
Avenue de I'Alma.
" Right ! He shall be here straight.
Come, wife— come, girls ! Mrs. Everard,
we'll send back our carriage for you and
the Colonel. Good-night! We'll call to-
morrow and inquire after mademoiselle."
Heliobas gratefully pressed his hand as
he withdrew, and his wife and daughters,
with whispered farewells, followed him.
We who were left behind all remained
near Zara, doing everything we could
think of to restore animation to that sense-
less form. Some of the servants, too,
hearing what had happened, gathered in a
little cluster at the drawing-room door,
looking with pale and alarmed faces at the
death-like figure of their beautiful mistress.
Half an hour or more must have passed in
this manner ; within the room there was
DEATH BY LIGHTNING. 207
a dreadful silence — but outside the rain
poured down in torrents, and the savage
wind howled and tore at the windows like
a besieging army. Suddenly Amy Everard,
who had been quietly and skilfully assisting
me in rubbing Zara's hands and bathing
her forehead, grew faint, staggered, and
would have fallen had not her husband
caught her on his arm.
" I am frightened," she gasped. *' I
cannot bear it — she looks so still, and
she is growing — rigid, like a corpse ! Oh,
if she should be dead !" And she hid her
face on her husband's breast.
At that moment we heard the grating of
wheels on the gravel outside ; it was the
Challoners' carriage returned. The coach-
man, after depositing his master and family
at the Grand Hotel, had driven rapidly
back in the teeth of the stinging sleet and
rain to bring the message that Dr. Morini
would be with us as soon as possible.
'' Then," whispered Colonel Everard
2o8 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
gently to me, ** I'll take Amy home. She
is thoroughly upset, and it's no use having
her going off into hysterics. I'll call with
Challoner to-morrow ;" and with a kindly
parting nod of encouragement to us all, he
slipped sofdy out of the room, half leading,
half carrying his trembling wife ; and in a
couple of minutes we heard the carriage
again drive away.
Left alone at last with Heliobas and
Father Paul, I, kneeling at the side of my
darling Zara, looked into their faces for
comfort, but found none. The dry-eyed
despair on the countenance of Heliobas
pierced me to the heart ; the pitying,
solemn expression of the venerable priest
touched me as with icy cold. The lovely,
marble-like whiteness and stillness of the
figure before me filled me with a vague
terror. Making a strong effort to control
my voice, I called in a low, clear tone :
-Zara! Zara!"
No sign — not the faintest flicker of an
DEATH BY LIGHTNING. 209
eyelash ! Only the sound of the falling rain
and the moaning wind — the thunder had
long ago ceased. Suddenly a something
attracted my gaze, which first surprised
and then horrified me. The jewel — the
electric stone on Zara's bosom no longer
shone! It was like a piece of dull un-
polished pebble. Grasping at the meaning
of this, with overwhelming instinctive
rapidity, I sprang up and caught the arm
of Heliobas.
''You — you!" I whispered hurriedly.
'' Yoic can restore her! Do as you did
with Prince Ivan ; you can — you must !
That stone she wears — the light has gone
out of it. If that means — and I am sure it
does — that life has for a little while ofone
out of her, you can bring it back. Quick
— quick ! You have the power !"
He looked at me with burning grief-
haunted eyes ; and a sigh that was almost
a groan escaped his lips.
'' I have 710 power," he said. " Not over
VOL. II.- 34
2IO A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
her. I told you she was dominated by a
higher force than mine. What can /
do ? Nothing — worse than nothing — I am
utterly helpless."
I stared at him in a kind of desperate
horror.
** Do you mean to tell me," I said
slowly, " that she is dead — utterly dead ?"
He was about to answer, when ore of
the watching servants announced in a low
tone : *' Dr. Morini."
The new-comer was a wiry, keen-eyed
little Italian ; his movements were quick,
decisive, and all to the point of action.
The first thing he did was to scatter the
little group of servants right and left, and
send them about their business. The
next, to close the doors of the room
against all intrusion. He then came
straight up to Heliobas, and pressing his
hand in a friendly manner, said briefly :
'* How and when did this happen ?"
Heliobas told him in as few words as
DEATH BY LIGHTNING. 211
possible. Dr. Morini then bent over
Zara's lifeless form, and examined her
features attentively. He laid his ear
against her heart and listened. Finally,
he caught sight of the round, lustreless
pebble hanging at her neck suspended
by its strings of pearl. Very gently he
moved this aside ; looked, and beckoned
us to come and look also. Exactly on the
spot where the electric stone had rested,
a small circular mark, like a black bruise,
tainted the fair soft skin — a mark no
larger than a small finger-ring.
" Death by electricity," said Dr. Morini
quietly. " Must have been instantaneous.
The lightning-flash, or downward electric
current, lodged itself here, where this mark
is, and passed directly through the heart.
Perfectly painless, but of course fatal.
She has been dead some time."
And, replacing the stone ornament in
its former position, he stepped back with
a suggestive glance at Father Paul. I
34—2
212 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
listened and saw — but I was In a state of
stupefaction. Dead ? My beautiful, gay,
strong Zara dead? Impossible! I knelt
beside her; I called her again and again
by every endearing and tender name I
could think of; I kissed her sweet lips.
Oh, they were cold as Ice, and chilled my
blood ! As one In a dream, I saw Hellobas
advance ; he kissed her forehead and
mouth ; he reverently unclasped the pearls
from about her throat, and with them
took off the electric stone. Then Father
Paul stepped slowly forward, and in place
of that once brilliant gem, now so dim and
destitute of fire, he laid a crucifix upon
the fair and gentle breast, motionless for
ever.
At sight of this sacred symbol, some
tense cord seemed to snap In my brain,
and I cried out wildly :
'^Oh, no, no! Not that! That is for
the dead ; Zara Is not dead ! It Is all a
mistake — a mistake ; she will be quite well
DEATH BY LIGHTNING.
213
presently ; and she will smile and tell you
how foolish you were to think her dead !
Dead ? She cannot be dead ; it is impos-
sible— quite impossible !" And I broke
into a passion of sobs and tears.
Very gently and kindly Dr. Morini drew
me away, and by dint of friendly persua-
sion, in which there was also a good deal
of firm determination, led me into the hall,
where he made me swallow a cflass of wine.
As I could not control my sobs, he spoke
with some sternness :
" Mademoiselle, you can do no good by
giving way in this manner. Death is a
very beautiful and solemn thing, and it is
irreverent to show unseemly passion in
such a great Presence. You loved your
friend — let it be a comfort to you that she
died painlessly. Control yourself, in order
to assist in rendering her the last few
gentle services necessary ; and try to con-
sole the desolate brother, who looks in real
need of encouragement."
214 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
These last words roused me. I forced
back my tears, and dried my eyes.
" I will, Dr. Morini," I said, in a trem-
bling voice. '^ I am ashamed to be so
weak. I know what I ought to do, and I
will do it. You may trust me."
He looked at me approvingly.
'' That is well," he said briefly. '' And
now, as I am of no use here, I will say
good-night. Remember, excessive grief
is mere selfishness ; resignation Is hero-
ism."
He was gone. I nerved myself to the
task I had before me, and within an hour
the fair casket of what had been Zara lay
on an open bier in the little chapel, lights
burning around it, and flowers strewn above
it in mournful profusion.
We had left her body arrayed in its
white satin garb ; the cluster of orange-
blossoms she had gathered still bloomed
upon the cold breast, where the crucifix
lay ; but In the tresses of the long dark
DEATH BY LIGHTNING. 215
hair I wove a wreath of lilies Instead of
the pearls we had undone.
And now I knelt beside the bier absorbed
in thought. Some of the weeping servants
had assembled, and knelt about in little
groups. The tall candles on the altar were
lit, and Father Paul, clad in mourning-
priestly vestments, prayed there in silence.
The storm of rain and wind still raged
without, and the windows of the chapel
shook and rattled with the violence of the
tempest.
A distant clock struck One ! with a deep
clang that echoed throughout the house. I
shuddered. So short a time had elapsed
since Zara had been alive and well ; now,
I could not bear to think that she was gone
from me for ever. For ever, did I say ?
No, not for ever — not so long as love
exists — love that shall bring us together
again in that far-off Sphere where
Hush ! what was that ? The sound of
the organ ? I looked around me in startled
2i6 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
wonderment. There was no one seated
at the instrument ; it was shut close. The
Hghts on the altar and round the bier
burnt steadily ; the motionless figure of the
priest before the tabernacle ; the praying
servants of the household — all was un-
changed. But certainly a flood of music
rolled grandly on the air — music t\ at
drowned for a moment the howling noise
of the battering wind. I rose softly, and
touched one of the kneeling domestics on
the shoulder.
" Did you hear the organ ?" I said.
The woman looked up at me with tear-
ful, alarmed eyes.
*' No, mademoiselle.''
I paused, listening. The music grew
louder and louder, and surged round me
in waves of melody. Evidently no one in
the chapel heard it but myself. I looked
about for Heliobas, but he had not entered.
He was most probably in his study, whither
he had retired to grieve in secret when we
DEATH BY LIGHTNING. 217
had borne Zara's body to its present couch
of dreamless sleep.
These sounds were meant for me alone
then ? I waited, and the music gradually
died away ; and as I resumed my kneeling
position by the bier all was again silence,
save for the unabated raging of the storm.
A strange calmness now fell on my
spirits. Some invisible hand seemed to
hold me still and tearless. Zara was dead.
I realized it now. I began to consider that
she must have known her fate beforehand.
This was what she had meant when she
said she was going on a journey. The
more I thought of this the quieter I be-
came, and I hid my face in my hands and
prayed earnestly.
A touch roused me — an imperative,
burning touch. An airy brightness, like a
light cloud with sunshine falling through
it, hovered above Zara's bier ! I gazed
breathlessly ; I could not move my lips to
utter a sound. A face looked at me — a
2i8 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
face angelically beautiful ! It smiled. I
stretched out my hands ; I struggled for
speech, and managed to whisper :
'* Zara, Zara ! you have come back !"
Her voice, so sweetly familiar, answered
me :
'' To life ? Ah, never, never again ! I
am too happy to return. But save him —
save my brother ! Go to him ; he is in
danger ; to you is given the rescue. Save
him ; and for me rejoice, and grieve no
more !"
The face vanished, the brightness faded,
and I sprang up from my knees in haste.
For one instant I looked at the beautiful
dead body of the friend I loved, with its
set mouth and placid features, and then I
smiled. This was not Zara — s/ie was alive
and happy ; this fair clay was but clay
doomed to perish, but s/ie was imperish-
able.
'* Save him — save my brother !" These
words rang in my ears. I hesitated no
DEATH BY LIGHTNING. 219
longer — I determined to seek Heliobas at
once. Swiftly and noiselessly I slipped out
of the chapel. As the door swung behind
me I heard a sound that first made me
stop in a sudden alarm, and then hurry on
with increased eagerness. There was no
mistaking it — it was the clash of steel !
CHAPTER VII.
A STRUGGLE FOR THE MASTERY.
RUSHED to the study-door,
tore aside the velvet hangings,
and faced Heliobas and Prince
Ivan Petroffsky. They held drawn
weapons, which they lowered at my sudden
entrance, and paused irresolutely.
*' What are you doing ?" I cried, ad-
dressing myself to Heliobas. " With the
dead body of your sister in the house, you
can fight ! You, too 1" and I looked re-
proachfully at Prince Ivan ; ** you also can
desecrate the sanctity of death, and yet —
you loved her !"
A STRUGGLE FOR THE MASTERY. 221
The Prince spoke not, but clenched his
sword-hilt with a fiercer grasp, and glared
wildly on his opponent. His eyes had a
look of madness in them — his dress was
much disordered — his hair wet with drops
of rain — his face ghastly white, and his
whole demeanour was that of a man dis-
traught by grief and passion. But he
uttered no word. Heliobas spoke ; he
was coldly calm, and balanced his sword
lightly on his open hand as if it were a toy.
''This gent leifian^'' he said, with deliberate
emphasis, '' happened, on his way thither,
to meet Dr. Morini, who informed him of
the fatal catastrophe which has caused my
sister's death. Instead of respecting the
sacredness of my solitude under the circum-
stances, he thrust himself rudely into my
presence, and before I could address him,
struck me violently in the face, and accused
me of being my sister's murderer. Such
conduct can only meet with one reply. I
gave him his choice of weapons : he chose
222 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
swords. Our combat has just begun — we
are anxious to resume it ; therefore if you,
mademoiselle, will have the goodness to
retire "
I interrupted him.
" I shall certainly not retire," I said
firmly. '* This behaviour on both your
parts is positive madness. Prince Ivan,
please to listen to me. The circumstances
of Zara's death were plainly witnessed by
me and others — her brother is as innocent
of having caused it as I am."
And I recounted to him quietly all that
had happened during that fatal and event-
ful evening. He listened moodily, tracing
out the pattern of the carpet with the point
of his sword. When I had finished he
looked up, and a titter smile crossed his
features.
'' I wonder, mademoiselle," he said,
'' that your residence in this accursed
house has not taught you better. I quite
believe all you say, that Zara, unfortunate
A STRUGGLE FOR THE MASTERY. 223
girl that she was, received her death by
a lightning-flash. But answer me this :
Who made her capable of attracting at-
mospheric electricity ? Who charged her
beautiful delicate body with a vile com-
pound of electrical fluid, so that she was as
a living magnet, bound to draw towards
herself electricity in all Its forms? Who
tampeped with her fine brain and made her
imagine herself allied to a spirit of air ?
Who but /le — /le ! — yonder unscrupulous
wretch ! — he who, in the pursuit of his
miserable science, practised his most
dangerous experiments on his sister, re-
gardless of her health, her happiness, her
life ! I say he is her murderer — her re-
morseless murderer, and a thrice-damned
villain !"
And he sprang forward to renew the
combat. I stepped quietly, unflinchingly
between him and Heliobas.
"Stop!" I exclaimed; ''this cannot go
on. Zara herself forbids It !"
224 ^ ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
The Prince paused, and looked at me in
a sort of stupefaction.
'' Zara forbids it !" he muttered. '' What
do you mean ?"
" I mean," I went on, ^' that I have seen
Zara since her death ; I have spoken to
her. She herself sent me here."
Prince Ivan stared, and then burst into
a fit of wild laughter.
'' Little fool !" he cried to me ; '' he has
maddened yotc too, then ! You are also
a victim ! Miserable girl ! out of my
path ! Revenge — revenge ! while I am yet
sane !"
Then pushing me roughly aside, he cast
away his sword, and shouted to Heliobas :
'' Hand to hand, villain ! No more of
these toy-weapons ! Hand to hand !"
Heliobas instantly threw down his sword
also, and rushing forward simultaneously,
they closed together in savage conflict.
Heliobas was the taller and more powerful
of the two, but Prince Ivan seemed imbued
A STRUGGLE FOR THE MASTERY. 225
with the spirit of a hundred devils, and
sprang at his opponent's throat with the
silent, breathless ferocity of a tiger. At
first Heliobas appeared to be simply on
the defensive, and his agile, skilful move-
ments were all used to parry and ward off
the other's grappling eagerness. But as I
watched the struggle, myself speechless
and powerless, I saw his face change.
Instead of its calm and almost indifferent
expression, there came a look which was
completely foreign to it — a look of savage
determination bordering on positive cruelty.
In a moment I saw what was taking place
in his mind. The animal passions of the
mere ^nau were aroused — the spiritual
force was utterly forgotten. The excite-
ment of the contest was beginning to tell,
and the desire of victory was dominant in
the breast of him whose ideas were generally
— and should have been now — those of
patient endurance and large generosity.
The fight grew closer, hotter, and more
VOL. II. 35
226 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
terrible. Suddenly the Prince swerved
aside and fell, and within a second Hellobas
held him down, pressing one knee firmly
against his chest. From my point of ob-
servation I noted with alarm that little by
little Ivan ceased his violent efforts to rise,
and that he kept his eyes fixed on the
overshadowlnof face of his foe with an un-
natural and curious pertinacity. I stepped
forward. Hellobas pressed his whole
weight heavily down on the young man's
prostrate body, while with both hands he
held him by the shoulders, and gazed with
terrific meaning Into his fast-paling coun-
tenance. Ivan's lips turned blue ; his eyes
appeared to start from their sockets ; his
throat rattled. The spell that held me
silent was broken ; a flash of light, a flood
of memory swept over my Intelligence. I
knew that Hellobas was exciting the whole
battery of his Inner electric force, and
that thus employed for the purposes of
vengeance, It must Infallibly cause death.
I found my speech at last.
A STRUGGLE FOR THE MASTERY. 227
** Heliobas !" I cried. " Remember, re-
member Azul ! When death hes Hke a
gift in your hand, withhold it ! Withhold
it, Heliobas ; and give life instead !"
He started at the sound of my voice,
and looked up. A strong shudder shook
his frame. Very slowly, very reluctantly,
he relaxed his position ; he rose from his
kneeling posture on the Prince's breast —
he left him, and stood upright. Ivan at
the same moment heaved a deep sigh, and
closed his eyes, apparently insensible.
Gradually one by one the hard lines
faded out of the face of Heliobas, and his
old expression of soft and grave benefi-
cence came back to it as graciously as
sunlight after rain. He turned to me, and
bent his head in a sort of reverential
salutation.
^' I thank and bless you," he said ; " you
reminded me in time. Another moment,
and it would have been too late. You
have saved me."
35—2
228 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
*' Give him his life," I said, pointing to
Ivan.
" He has it," returned Heliobas ; '' I
have not taken it from him, thank God !
He provoked me ; I regret it. I should
have been more patient with him. He
will revive immediately. I leave him to
your care. In dealing with him, I ought
to have remembered that human passion
like his, unguided by spiritual knowledge,
was to be met with pity and forbearance.
As it is, however, he is safe. For me, I
will go and pray for Zara's pardon, and
that of my wronged Azul."
As he uttered the last words, he started
looked up, and smiled.
'' My beautiful one ! Thou /las^ pardoned
me ? Thou wilt love me still ? Thou art
with me, Azul, my beloved ? I have not
lost thee, oh my best and dearest ! Wilt
thou lead me ? Whither ? Nay — no
matter whither — I come !"
And as one walking in sleep, he went
A STRUGGLE FOR THE MASTERY, 229
out of the room, and I heard his footsteps
echoing In the distance on the way to the
chapel.
Left alone with the Prince, I snatched a
glass of cold water from the table, and
sprinkled some of it on his forehead and
hands. This was quite sufficient to revive
him ; and he drew a long breath, opened
his eyes, and stared wildly about him.
Seeing no one but me, he grew bewildered,
and asked :
'' What has happened ?"
Then catching sight of the drawn swords
lying still on the ground w^here they had
been thrown, he sprang to his feet, and
cried :
" Where Is the coward and murderer ?"
I made him sit down and hear with
patience what I had to say. I reminded
him that Zara's health and happiness had
always been perfect, and that her brother
would rather have slain himself than her.
I told him plainly that Zara had expected
230 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS. '
her death, and had prepared for It — had
even bade me good-bye, although then I
had not understood the meaning of her
words. I recalled to his mind the day
when Zara had used her power to repulse
him.
'* Disbelieve as you will In electric
spiritual force," I said. '' Your message
to her then through me was — Tell /ler I
have seen her lover T
At these words a sombre shadow flitted
over the Prince's face.
'' I tell you," he said slowly, " that I
believe I was on that occasion the victim
of an hallucination. But I will explain to
you what I saw. A superb figure, like,
and yet unlike, a man, but of a much
larger and grander form, appeared to me,
as I thought, and spoke. ' Zara is mine,'
it said — * mine by choice ; mine by free-
will ; mine till death ; mine after death ;
mine through eternity. With her thou
hast naught in common ; thy way lies else-
A STRUGGLE FOR THE MASTERY. 231
where. Follow the path allotted to thee,
and presume no more upon an angel's
patience.' Then this strange majestic-
looking creature, whose face, as I re-
member it, was extraordinarily beautiful,
and whose eyes were like self-luminous
stars, vanished. But, after all, what of it ?
The whole thing was a dream."
*' I am not so sure of that," I said
quietly. '' But, Prince Ivan, now that you
are calmer and more capable of resignation,
will you tell me w/iy you loved Zara ?"
" Why r he broke out impetuously.
" Why, because it was impossible to help
loving her."
'' That is no answer," I replied*
*' Think ! You can reason well if you like
— I have heard you hold your own in an
argument. What made you love Zara ?"
He looked at me in a sort of impatient
surprise, but seeing I was very much in
earnest, he pondered a minute or so before
replying.
232 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
** She was the loveliest woman I have
ever seen !" he said at last, and In his voice
there was a sound of yearning and regret.
" Is ^/la^ all ?" I queried, with a gesture
of contempt. *' Because her body was
beautiful — because she had sweet kissing
lips and a soft skin ; because her hand v^^as
like a white flower, and her dark hair
clustering over her brow reminded one of
a misty evening cloud hiding moonlight ;
because the glance of her glorious eyes
made the blood leap through your veins
and sting you with passionate desire — are
these the reasons of your so-called love ?
Oh, give it some other and lower name !
For the worms shall feed on the fair flesh
that won your admiration — their wet and
slimy bodies shall trail across the round
white arms and tender bosom — unsightly
things shall crawl among the tresses of the
glossy hair; and nothing, nothing shall
remain of what you loved, but dust. Prince
Ivan, you shudder ; but I too loved Zara
A STRUGGLE FOR THE MASTERY. 233
— I loved /ler, not the perishable casket in
which, like a jewel, she was for a time en-
shrined. I love her still — and for the being
I love there is no such thing as death."
The Prince was silent, and seemed
touched. I had spoken with real feeling,
and tears of emotion stood in my eyes.
** I loved her as a man generally loves,"
he said, after a little pause. " Nay — more
than most men love most women !"
'' Most men are too often selfish in
both their loves and hatreds," I returned.
" Tell me if there was anything in Zara's
mind and intelligence to attract you ?
Did you sympathize in her pursuits ; did
you admire her tastes ; had you any ideas
in common with her ?"
'' No, I confess I had not," he answered
readily. " I considered her to be entirely
a victim to her brother's scientific experi-
ments. I thought, by making her my wife,
to release her from such tyranny and give
her rescue and refuQ:e. To this end, I
234 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
found out all I could from — /izm " — he
approached the name of Heliobas with re-
luctance— " and I made up my mind that
her delicate imagination had been morbidly-
excited ; but that marriage and a life like
that led by other women would bring her
to a more healthy state of mind."
I smiled with a little scorn.
" Your presumption was almost greater
than your folly, Prince," I said ; " that with
such ideas as these in your mind, you
could dream of . winning Zara for a wife.
Do you think s/ie could have led a life like
that of other women ? A frivolous round
of gaiety, a few fine dresses and jewels,
small-talk, society scandal, stale compli-
ments— you think such things would have
suited /ler ? And would she have con-
tented herself with a love like yours }
Come I Come and see how well she has
escaped you !"
And I beckoned him towards the door.
He hesitated.
A STRUGGLE FOR THE MASTERY. 235
" Where would you take me ?" he asked.
" To the chapel. Zara's body lies
there."
He shuddered.
*' No, no — not there ! I cannot bear to
look upon her perished loveliness — to see
that face, once so animated, white and
ricrid — death in such a form is too horrible!"
And he covered his eyes with his hand
— I saw tears slowly drop through his
fingers. I gazed at him, half in wonder,
half in pity.
" And yet you are a brave man !" I said.
These words roused him. He met my
gaze with such a haggard look of woe that
my heart ached for him. What comfort
had he now ? What joy could he ever
expect ? All his happiness was centred in
the fact of deiu^- alive — alive to the plea-
sures of living, and to the joys the world
could offer to a man who was strong, hand-
some, rich, and accomplished — how could
he look upon death as otherwise than a
236 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
loathsome thino- — a thins^ not to be
thought of in the heyday of youthful
blood and jollity — a doleful spectre, in
whose bony hands the roses of love must
fall and wither ! With a sense of deep
commiseration in me, I spoke again with
great gentleness.
'' You need not look upon Zara's corpse
unless you wish it. Prince," I said. *' To
you, the mysteries of the Hereafter have
not been unlocked, because there is some-
thing In your nature that cannot and will
not believe in God. Therefore to you,
death must be repellent. I know you are
one of those for whom the present alone
exists — you easily forget the past, and take
no trouble for the future. Paris is your
heaven, or St. Petersburg, or Vienna, as
the fancy takes you ; and the modern
atheistical doctrines of French demoraliza-
tion are in your blood. Nothing but a
heaven-sent miracle could make you other
than you are, and miracles do not exist for
A STRUGGLE FOR THE MASTERY, 237
the materialist. But let me say two words
more before you go from this house. Seek
no more to avenge yourself for your love-
disappointment on Heliobas — for you have
really nothing to avenge. By your own
confession you only cared for Zara's body
— that body was always perishable, and it
has perished by a sudden but natural
catastrophe. With her soul, you declare
you had nothing in common — that was
herself — and she Is alive to us who love
her as she sought to be loved. Heliobas
is innocent of having slain her body ; he
but helped to cultivate and foster that
beautiful Spirit which he knew to be /ler —
for that he is to be honoured and com-
mended. Promise me, therefore, Prince
Ivan, that you will never approach him
again except In friendship — Indeed, you
owe him an apology for your unjust accusa-
ti'on, as also your gratitude for his sparing
your life in the recent struggle."
The Prince kept his eyes steadily fixed
238 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
upon me all the time I was speaking, and
as I finished, he sighed and moved rest-
lessly.
i ' Your words are compelling, mademoi-
selle," he said ; *' and you have a strange
attraction for me. I know I am not wrong
in thinking that you are a disciple of
Heliobas, whose science I admit, though I
doubt his theories. I promise you willingly
what you ask — nay, I will even offer him
my hand if he will accept it."
Overjoyed at my success, I answered :
''He is In the chapel, but I will fetch
him here."
Over the Prince's face a shadow of doubt,
mingled with dread, passed swiftly, and he
seemed to be forming a resolve In his own
mind which was more or less distasteful
to him. Whatever the feeling was he
conquered It by a strong effort, and said
with firmness :
' No ; I will go to him myself. And
I will look again upon — upon the face
A STRUGGLE FOR THE MASTERY. 239
I loved — It is but one pang the more, and
why should I not endure it ?"
Seeing him thus inclined, I made no
effort to dissuade him, and without another
word I led the way to the chapel. I
entered it reverently, he following me
closely, with slow hushed footsteps. All
was the same as I had left it, save that the
servants of the household had gone to take
some needful rest before the morning light
called them to their daily routine of labour.
Father Paul, too, had retired, and Heliobas
alone knelt beside all that remained of
Zara, his figure as motionless as though
carved in bronze, his face hidden in his
hands. As we approached, he neither
stirred nor looked up, therefore I softly led
the Prince to the opposite side of the bier,
that he might look quietly on the perished
loveliness that lay there at rest for ever.
Ivan trembled, yet stedfastly gazed at the
beautiful reposeful form, at the calm features
on which the smile with which death had
240 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS,
been received, still lingered — at the folded
hands, the fading orange-blossoms — at the
crucifix that lay on the cold breast like the
final seal on the letter, of life. Impulsively
he stooped forward, and with a tender awe
pressed his lips on the pale forehead, but
instantly started back with the smothered
exclamation :
'' O God ! how cold !"
At the sound of his voice Hellobas rose
up erect, and the two men faced each
other, Zara's dead body lying like a barrier
betwixt them.
A pause followed — a pause in which I
heard my own heart beating loudly, so
great was my anxiety. Hellobas suffered
a few moments to elapse, then stretched his
hand across his sister's bier.
** In /ler name, let there be peace be-
tween us, Ivan," he said in accents that
were both gentle and solemn.
The Prince, touched to the quick, re-
sponded to these kindly words with eager
A STRUGGLE FOR THE MASTERY. 241
promptness, and they clasped hands over
the quiet and lovely form that lay there —
a silent binding witness of their reconcilia-
tion.
" I have to ask your pardon, Caslmir,"
then whispered Ivan. '' I have also to
thank you for my life."
** Thank the friend who stands beside
you," returned Heliobas, in the same low
tone, with a slight gesture towards me.
*' She reminded me of a duty in time.
As for pardon, I know of no cause of
offence on your part save what was per-
fectly excusable. Say no more ; wisdom
comes with years, and you are yet
young."
A long silence followed. We all re-
mained looking wistfully down upon the
body of our lost darling, in thought too
deep for words or weeping. I then noticed
that another humble mourner shared our
watch — a mourner whose very existence I
had nearly forgotten. It was the faithful
VOL. II. ^6
242 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
Leo. He lay couchant on the stone floor
at the foot of the bier, almost as silent as
a dog of marble ; the only sign of anima-
tion he gave being a deep sigh which broke
from his honest heart now and then. I
went to him and softly patted his shaggy
coat. He looked up at me with big brown
eyes full of tears, licked my hand meekly,
and again laid his head down upon his two
fore-paws with a resignation that was most
pathetic.
The dawn began to peer faintly through
the chapel windows — the dawn of a misty,
chilly morning. The storm of the past
night had left a sting In the air, and the
rain still fell, though gently. The wind
had almost entirely sunk Into silence. I
re-arranged the flowers that were strewn
on Zara's corpse, taking away all those that
had slightly faded. The orange-blossom
was almost dead, but I left that where it
was — where the living Zara had herself
placed it. As I performed this slight
A STRUGGLE FOR THE MASTERY. 245
service, I thoucrht, half mournfully, half
gladly —
" Yes, Heaven is thine, but this
Is a world of sweets and sours —
Our flowers are merely J^ozcers ;
And the shadow of thy perfect bhss
Is the sunshine of ours."
Prince Ivan at last roused himself as
from a deep and melancholy reverie, and
addressing himself to Heliobas, said softly:
** I will intrude no longer on your
privacy, Casimir. Farewell ! I shall leave
Paris to-niorht."
For all answer Heliobas beckoned him
and me also out of the chapel. As soon
as its doors closed behind us, and we stood
in the centre hall, he spoke with affectionate
and grave earnestness :
'' Ivan, something tells me that you and
I shall not meet again for many years, if
ever. Therefore, when you say 'farewell'
the word falls upon my ears with double
meaning. We are friends — our friendship
36—2
244 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
Is sanctified by the dead presence of one
whom we both loved, in different ways ;
therefore you will take in good part what
I now say to you. You know, you cannot
disguise from yourself that the science I
study is fraught with terrible truth and
marvellous discoveries ; the theories I de-
duce from it you disbelieve, because you
are nearly a materialist. I say nearly —
not quite. That 'not quite' makes me love
you, Ivan : I would save the small bright
spark that flickers within you from both
escape and extinction. But I cannot — aL
least, not as yet. Still, in order that you
may know that there is a power in me
higher than ordinary human reason, before
you go from me to-night hear my prophecy
of your career. The world waits for you,
Ivan — the world, all agape and glittering
with a thousand sparkling toys ; It waits,
greedy for your presence, ready to fawn
upon you for a smile, willing to cringe to
you for a nod of approval. And why .^
A STRUGGLE FOR THE MASTERY. 245
Because wealth is yours — vast, illimitable
wealth. Aye — you need not start or look
incredulous — you will find it as I say.
You, whose fortune up to now has barely
reached a poor four thousand per annum —
you are at this moment the possessor of
millions. This very night a relative of
yours, whose name you scarcely know, has
expired, leaving all his hoarded treasures
to you. Before the close of this present
day, on whose threshold we now stand,
you will have the news. When you receive
it remember me, and acknowledge that at
least for once I knew and spoke the truth.
Follow the broad road, Ivan, laid out be-
fore you — a road wide enough not only for
you to walk in, but for the crowd of toadies
and flatterers also, who will push on swiftly
after you and jostle you on all sides ; be
strong of heart and merry of countenance !
Gather the roses ; press the luscious
grapes into warm, red wine that, as you
quaff it, shall make your blood dance a
246 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
mad waltz in your veins, and fair women's
faces shall seem fairer to you than ever,
their embraces more tender, their kisses
more tempting ! Spin the ball of Society
like a toy on the palm of your hand ! I
see your life stretching before me like a
brilliant, thread-like ephemeral ray of light !
But in the far distance across it looms a
shadow — a shadow that your power alone
can never lift. Mark me, Ivan! When
the first dread chill of that shadow makes
itself felt, come to me — I shall yet be living.
Come ; for then no wealth can aid you — at
that dark hour no boon companions can
comfort. Come ; and by our friendship
so lately sworn — by Zara's pure soul — by
God's existence, I will not die till I have
changed that darkness over you into light
eternal ! — Fare you well !"
He caught the Prince's hand, and wrung
it hard ; then, without further word, look,
or gesture, turned and disappeared again
within the chapel.
A STRUGGLE FOR THE MASTERY. 247
His words had evidently made a deep
impression on the young nobleman, who
gazed after his retreating figure with a
certain awe not unmingled with fear.
I held out my hand in silent farewell.
Ivan took it gently, and kissed it with
graceful courtesy.
*' Casimir told me that your intercession
saved my life, mademoiselle," he said.
** Accept my poor thanks. If his present
prophet-like utterances be true
'' Why should you doubt him ? I asked,
with some impatience. ** Can you believe
in nothing?''
The Prince, still holding my hand, looked
at me in a sort of grave perplexity.
" I think you have hit it/' he observed
quietly. *' I doubt ever>-thing except the
fact of my own existence, and there are
times when I am not even sure of that.
But if, as I said before, the prophecy of
my Chaldean friend, whom I cannot help
admiring with all my heart, turns out to be
248 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
correct, then my life is more valuable to me
than ever with such wealth to balance It,
and I thank you doubly for having saved
it by a word in time."
I withdrew my hand gently from his.
" You think the worth of your life in^
creased by wealth ?" I asked.
" Naturally ! Money is power."
** And what of the shadow also foretold
as inseparable from your fate ?"
A faint smile crossed his features.
'' Ah, pardon me ! That Is the only por-
tion of Caslmir's fortune-telling that I am
Inclined to disbelieve thoroughly."
'' But," I said, '' if you are willing to
accept the pleasant part of his prophecy,
why not admit the possibility of the un- '
pleasant occurring also ?"
He shrugged his shoulders.
" In these enlightened times, mademoi-
selle, we only believe what is agreeable to
us, and what suits our own wishes, tastes,
and opinions. Ca va sans dire. We cannot
A STRUGGLE FOR THE MASTERY. 249
be forced to accept a Deity against our
reason. That is a grand result of modern
education."
'' Is it .^" and I looked at him with pity.
" Poor human reason ! It will reel into
madness sometimes for a mere trifle — an
overdose of alcohol will sometimes upset it
altogether — what a noble omnipotent thing
is human reason ! But let me not detain
you. Good-bye, and — as the greeting of
olden times used to run — God save you !"
He bent his head with a light reverence.
" I believe you to be a good, sweet
woman," he said, " therefore I am grateful
for your blessing. My mother," and here
his eyes grew dreamy and wistful — " poor
soul! she died long ago — my mother would
never let me retire to rest without signing
the cross on my brow. Ah well, that is
past ! I should like, mademoiselle," and
his voice sank very low, "to send some
flowers for — her — you understand ?"
I did understand, and readily promised
250 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
to lay whatever blossoms he selected
tenderly above the sacred remains of that
earthly beauty he had loved, as he himself
said, " more than most men love most
women."
He thanked me earnestly, and seemed
relieved and satisfied. Casting a look of
farewell around the familiar hall, he wafted
a parting kiss towards the chapel — an
action which, though light, was full of
tenderness and regret. Then, with a low
salute, he left me. The street-door opened
and closed after him in its usual noiseless
manner. He was gone.
The morning had now fairly dawned,
and within the Hotel Mars the work of the
great mansion went on in its usual routine ;
but a sombre melancholy was in the atmo-
sphere— a melancholy that not all my best
efforts could dissipate. The domestics
looked sullen and heavy-eyed ; the only
ones In their number who preserved their
usual equanimity were the Armenian men-
A STRUGGLE FOR THE MASTERY. 251
servants and the little Greek page. Pre-
parations for Zara's funeral went on apace ;
they were exceedingly simple, and the
ceremony was to be quite private in
character. Heliobas issued his orders, and
saw to the carrying out of his most minute
instruction in his usual calm manner ; but
his eyes looked heavy, and his fine counte-
nance was rendered even more majestic by
the sacred, resigned sorrow that lay upon
it like a deep shadow. His page served
him with breakfast in his private room ;
but he left the light meal untasted. One
of the women brought me coffee ; but the
very thought of eating and drinking seemed
repulsive, and I could not touch anything.
My mind was busy with the consideration
of the duty I had to perform — namely, to
see the destruction of Zara's colossal statue,
as she had requested. After thinking about
it for some time, I went to Heliobas and
told him what I had it in charge to do. He
listened attentively.
252 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
" Do It at once," he said decisively.
'' Take two of my Armenians ; they are
discreet, obedient, and they ask no ques-
tions— with strong hammers they will soon
pulverize the clay. Stay ! I will come
with you." Then looking at me scrutiniz-
ingly, he added kindly: "You have eaten
nothing, my child ? You cannot ? But
your strength will give way — here, take
this." And he held out a small glass of a
fluid whose re-vivifying properties I well
knew to be greater than any sustenance
provided by an ordinary meal. I swal-
lowed it obediently, and as I returned the
empty glass to him he said : " I also have
a commission in charge from Zara. You
know, I suppose, that she was prepared
for her death .^"
" I did not know ; but I think she must
have been/' I answered.
*'She was. We both were. We re-
mained together in the chapel all day,
saying what parting words we had to say
A STRUGGLE FOR THE MASTERY. 253
to one another. We knew her death, or
rather her release, was to occur at some
hour that night ; but in what way the end
was destined to come, we knew not. Till
I heard the first peals of thunder, I was in
suspense ; but after that I was no longer
uncertain. You were a witness of the
whole ensuing scene. No death could
have been more painless than hers. But
let me not forget the message she gave me
for you." Here he took from a secret drawer
the electric stone Zara had always worn.
" This jewel is yours," he said. " You
need not fear to accept It — it contains no
harm ; It will bring you no ill-fortune.
You see how all the sparkling brilliancy
has gone out of It ? Wear It, and within
a few minutes It will be as lustrous as ever.
The life throbbing in your veins warms
the electricity contained in It ; and with
the flowing of your blood, Its hues change
and glow. It has no power to attract ; It
can simply absorb and shine. Take It as
254 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
a remembrance of her who loved you and
who loves you still."
I was still in my evening dress, and my
neck was bare. I slipped the chain, on
which hung the stone, round my throat,
and watched the strange gem with some
curiosity. In a few seconds a pale streak
of fiery topaz flashed through it, which
deepened and glowed into a warm crimson,
like the heart of a red rose ; and by the
time it had become thoroughly warmed
against my flesh, it glittered as brilliantly
as ever.
" I will always wear it," I said earnestly.
" I believe it will bring me good fortune."
'' I believe it will," returned Heliobas
simply. '' And now let us fulfil Zara's
other commands."
On our way across the hall, we were
stopped by the page, who brought us a
message of inquiry after Zara's health from
Colonel Everard and his wife, and also
from the Challoners. Heliobas hastily
A STRUGGLE FOR THE MASTERY. 255
wrote a few brief words in pencil, explain-
ing the fatal result of the accident, and
returned it to the messenger, giving orders
at the same time that all the blinds should
be pulled down at the windows of the
house, that visitors might understand there
was no admittance. We then proceeded
to the studio, accompanied by two of
the Armenians carrying heavy hammers.
Reverently, and with my mind full of
recollections of Zara's living presence, I
opened the familiar door. The first thing
that greeted us was a most exquisitely
wrought statue in white marble of Zara
herself, full length, and arrayed in her
customary graceful Eastern costume. The
head was slightly raised ; a look of glad-
ness lighted up the beautiful features ; and
within the loosely clasped hands was a
cluster of roses. Round the pedestal were
carved the words, "Omnia vincit Amor,'*
with Zara's name and the dates of her
birth and death. A little slip of paper lay
256 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
at the foot of the statue, which Hellobas
perceived, and taking it, he read and
passed it to me. The lines were in Zara's
handwriting, and ran as follows :
'' To my beloved Casimir — my brother,
my friend, my guide and teacher, to whom
I owe the supreme happiness of my life in
this world and the next — let this poor
figure of his grateful Zara be a memento
of happy days that are gone, only to be
renewed with redoubled happiness here-
after."
I handed back the paper silently, with
tears in my eyes, and we turned our
attention to the colossal figure we had
come to destroy. It stood at the extreme
end of the studio, and was entirely hidden
by white linen drapery. Hellobas advanced,
and by a sudden dexterous movement suc-
ceeded in drawing off the coverings with a
single effort, and then we both fell back
A STRUGGLE FOR THE MASTERY. 257
and gazed at the clay form disclosed in
amazement. What did it represent ? A
man ? a god ? an angel ? or all three
united in one vast figure ?
It was an unfinished work. The features
of the face were undeclared, save the brow
and eyes ; and these were large, grand,
and full of absolute wisdom and tranquil
consciousness of power. I could have
gazed on this wonderful piece of Zara's
handiwork for hours, but Heliobas called
to the Armenian servants, who stood near
the door awaiting orders, and commanded
them to break it ^own. For once these
well-trained domestics showed signs of sur-
prise, and hesitated. Their master frowned.
Snatching a hammer from one of them, he
himself attacked the great statue as if it
were a foe, and a cloud of dust began to
fill the studio. The Armenians, seeing he
was in earnest, returned to their usual
habits of passive obedience, and aided him
in his labour. Within a few minutes the
VOL. II. 37
258 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
great and beautiful figure lay In fragments
on the floor, and these fragments were soon
crushed into indistinguishable dust. I had
promised to witness this work of destruc-
tion, and witness it I did, but It was with
pain and regret. When all was finished,
Hellobas commanded his servants to carry
the statue of Zara's self down to his own
private room, and then to summon all the
domestics of the household in a body to
the great hall, as he wished to address
them. I heard him give this order with
some surprise, and he saw it. As the
Armenians slowly disappeared, carrying
with great care the marble figure of their
late mistress, he turned to me, as he
locked up the door of the studio, and said
quietly :
" These Ignorant folk, who serve me for
money and food — money that they have
eagerly taken, and' food that they have
greedily devoured — they think that I am
the devil or one of the devil's agents, and I
A STRUGGLE FOR THE MASTERY. 259
am going to prove their theories entirely to
their satisfaction. Come and see !"
I followed him, somewhat mystified. On
the way downstairs he said :
" Do you know why Zara wished that
statue destroyed ?"
'* No," I said frankly ; " unless for the
reason that it was incomplete."
*' It always would have been incomplete,'^
returned Heliobas ; '' even had she lived
to work at it for years. It was a daring
attempt, and a fruitless one. She was
trying to make a clay figure of one who
never wore earthly form — the Being who
is her Twin-Soul, who dominates her en-
tirely, and who is with her now. As well
might she have tried to represent in white
marble the prismatic hues of the rain-
bow !"
We had now reached the hall, and the
serv^ants were assembling by twos and
threes. They glanced at their master with
looks of awe, as he took up a commanding
37—^
26o A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
position near the fountain, and faced them
with a glance of calm scrutiny and at-
tention. I drew a chair behind one of the
marble columns and seated myself, watch-
ing everything with interest. Leo ap-
peared from some corner or other, and
laid his rough body down close at his
master's feet.
In a few minutes all the domestics,
some twenty in number, were present, and
Heliobas, raising his voice, spoke with a
clear deliberate enunciation :
'* I have sent for you all this morning,
because I am perfectly aware that you have
all determined to give me notice."
A stir of astonishment and dismay en-
sued on the part of the small audience, and
I heard one voice near me whisper :
"He ts the devil, or how could he have
known it ?"
The lips of Heliobas curled in a fine
sarcastic smile. He went on :
*' I spare you this trouble. Knowing
A STRUGGLE FOR THE MASTERY, 261
your intentions, I take upon myself to dis-
miss you at once. Naturally, you cannot
risk your characters by remaining in the
service of the devil. For my own part, I
wonder the devil's money has not burnt
your hands, or his food turned to poison in
your mouths. My sister, your kind and
ever-indulgent mistress, is dead. You
know this, and it is your opinion that I
summoned up the thunderstorm which
caused her death. Be it so. Report it so,
if you will, through Paris ; your words do
not affect me. You have been excellent
machines, and for your services many
thanks ! As soon as my sister's funeral is
over, your wages, with an additional pre-
sent, will be sent to you. You can then
leave my house when you please ; and,
contrary to the usual custom of accepted
devils, I am able to say, without perishing
in the effort — God speed you all !"
The faces of those he addressed ex-
hibited various emotions while he spoke — ■
262 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
fear contending with a good deal of shame.
The httle Greek page stepped forward
timidly.
" The master knows that I will never
leave him," he murmured, and his large
eyes were moist with tears.
Heliobas laid a gentle hand on the boy's
dark curls, but said nothing. One of the
four Armenians advanced, and with a
graceful rapid gesture of his right hand,
touched his head and breast.
" My lord will not surely dismiss us who
desire to devote ourselves to his service ?
We are willing to follow my lord to the
death, if need be, for the sake of the love
and honoitr we bear him."
Heliobas looked at him very kindly.
" I am richer in friends than I thought
myself to be," he said quietly. " Stay
then, by all means, Afra, you and your
companions, since you have desired it.
And you, my boy," he went on, addressing
the tearful page, '' think you that I would
A STRUGGLE FOR THE MASTERY. 263
turn adrift an orphan, whom a dying
mother trusted to my care ? Nay, child,
I am as much your servant as you are
mine, so long as your love turns towards
me."
For all answer the page kissed his hand
in a sort of rapture, and flinging back his
clustering hair from his classic brows,
surveyed the domestics who had taken
their dismissal in silent acquiescence, with a
pretty scorn.
" Go, all of you, scum of Paris !" he
cried in his clear treble tones — " you who
know neither God nor devil ! You will
have your money — more than your share
— what else seek you ? You have served
one of the noblest of men ; and because he
^s so great and wise and true, you judge
him a fiend ! Oh, so like the people of
Paris — they who pervert all things till they
think good evil and evil good ! Look
you ! you have worked for your wages ; but
I have worked for /itm — I would starve
264 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
with him, I would die for him ! For to me
he is not fiend, but Angel !"
Overcome by his own feelings the boy
again kissed his master's hand, and
Heliobas gently bade him be silent. He
himself looked round on the still motion-
less group of servants with an air of calm
surprise.
" What are you waiting for ?" he asked.
*^ Consider yourselves dismissed, and at
liberty to go where you please. Any one
of you that chooses to apply to me for a
character shall not lack the suitable recom-
mendation. There is no more to say."
A lively-looking woman with quick rest-
less black eyes stepped forward.
'' I am sure," she said, with a mincing
curtsey, '* that we are very sorry if we
have unintentionally wronged monsieur ;
but monsieur, who is aware of so many
things, must know that many reports are
circulated about monsieur that make one to
shudder ; that madame his sister's death
A STRUGGLE FOR THE MASTERY. 265
so lamentable has given to all, what one
would say, the horrors ; and monsieur
must consider that poor servants of virtuous
reputation "
•• So, Jeanne Claudet !" interrupted
Heliobas, in a thrilling low tone. ** And
what of the child — the little waxen-faced
helpless babe left to die on the banks of
the Loire ? But it did not die, Jeanne — it
was rescued ; and it shall yet live to loathe
its mother !"
The woman uttered a shriek, and fainted.
In the feminine confusion and fuss that
ensued, Heliobas, accompanied by his
litde page and the dog Leo, left the hall
and entered his own private room, where
for some time I left him undisturbed.
In the early part of the afternoon a note
was brought to me. It was from Colonel
Everard, entreating me to come as soon as
possible to his wife, who was very ill.
" Since she heard of the death of that
beautiful young lady, a death so fearfully
266 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
sudden and unexpected," wrote the
Colonel, '* she has been quite unlike her-
self— nervous, hysterical, and thoroughly-
unstrung. It will be a real kindness to
her if you will come as soon as you can —
she has such a strong desire for your
company."
I showed this note at once to Heliobas.
He read it, and said :
" Of course you must go. Wait till our
simple funeral ceremony is over, and then
— we part. Not for ever ; I shall see you
often again. For now I have lost Zara,
you are my only female disciple, and I
shall not willingly lose sight of you. You
will correspond with me ?"
" Gladly and gratefully," I replied.
*' You shall not lose by it. I can initiate
you into many secrets that will be useful
to you in your career. As for your friend
Mrs. Everard, you will find that your
presence will cure her. You have pro-
gressed greatly in electric force ; the mere
A STRUGGLE FOR THE MASTERY. 267
touch of your hand will soothe her, as you
will find. But never be tempted to try
any of the fluids of which you have the
recipes on her, or on anybody but yourself,
unless you write to me first about it, as
Cellini did when he tried an experiment
on you. As for your own bodily and
spiritual health, you know thoroughly what
to do — keep the secret ; and make a step
in advance every day. By-and-by you
will have double work."
'' How so T I asked.
*' In Zara's case, her soul became
dominated by a Spirit whose destiny was
fulfilled and perfect, and who never could
descend to imprisonment in earthly clay.
Now, you will not be dominated — you will
be simply equalized ; that is, you will find
the exact counterpart of your own soul
dwelling also in human form, and you will
have to impart your own force to that
other soul, which will, in its turn, impart
to yours a corresponding electric impetus.
268 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
There Is no union so lovely as such an one
— no harmony so exquisite ; it is like a
perfect chord, complete and indissoluble.
There are sevenths and ninths in music,
beautiful and effective in their degrees ;
but perhaps none of them are so absolutely
satisfying to the ear as the perfect chord.
And this is your lot in life and in love, my
child — be grateful for it night and morning
on your bended knees before the Giver of
all good. And walk warily — your own
soul with that other shall need much high
thought and humble prayer. Aim onward
and upward — you know the road — you
also know, and you have partly seen, what
awaits you at the end."
After this conversation we spoke no
more in private together. The rest of the
afternoon was entirely occupied with the
final preparations for Zara s funeral, which
was to take place at Pere-la-Chaise early
in the next morning. A large and beauti-
ful wreath of white roses, lilies, and maiden-
A STRUGGLE FOR THE MASTERY. 269
hair arrived from Prince Ivan ; and, re-
membering my promise to him, I went
myself to lay it in a conspicuous place on
Zara's corpse. That fair body was now
laid in its coffin of polished oak, and a
delicate veil of filmy lace draped it from
head to foot. The placid expression of
the features remained unchanged, save for
a litde extra rigidity of the flesh ; the
hands, folded over the crucifix, were stiff,
and looked as though they were moulded
in wax. I placed the wreath in position
and paused, looking wistfully at that still
and solemn figure. Father Paul, slowly
entering from a side-door, came and stood
beside me.
'* She is happy/' he said ; and a cheer-
ful expression irradiated his venerable
features.
** Did you also know she would die that
night ?" I asked softly.
"Her brother sent for me, and told me
of her expected dissolution. She herself
270 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
told me, and made her last confession and
communion. Therefore I was prepared."
" But did you not doubt — were you not
inclined to think they might be wrong ?" I
inquired, with some astonishment.
" I knew Heliobas as a child," the priest
returned. " I knew his father and mother
before him ; and I have been always per-
fectly aware of the immense extent of his
knowledge, and the value of his discover-
ies. If I were inclined to be sceptical on
spiritual matters, I should not be of the
race I am ; for I am also a Chaldean."
I said no more, and Father Paul trimmed
the tapers burning round the coffin in
devout silence. Again I looked at the fair
dead form before me ; but somehow I
could not feel sad again. All my impulses
bade me rejoice. Why should I be un-
happy on Zara's account ? — more especially
when the glories of the Central Sphere
were yet fresh in my memory, and when I
knew as a positive fact that her happiness
A STRUGGLE FOR THE MASTERY. 271
was now perfect. I left the chapel with a
light step and lighter heart, and went to
my own room to pack up my things that
all might be in readiness for my departure
on the morrow. On my table I found a
volume whose quaint binding I at once
recognised — *' The Letters of a Dead
Musician." A card lay beside it, on which
was written in pencil :
'' Knowing of your wish to possess this
book, I herewith offer it for your accept-
ance. It teaches you a cheerful devotion
to Art, and an indifference to the world's
opinions — both of which are necessary to
you in your career. — Heliobas."
Delighted with this gift, I opened the
book, and found my name written on
the fly-leaf, with the date of the month and
year, and the words :
'^ jLa 77ittsica e il lament 0 delF aiuore 0 la
preghiera a gli DeiT (Music is the lament
of love, or a prayer to the Gods.)
272 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
I placed this treasure carefully in a
corner of my portmanteau, together with
the parchment scrolls containing ** The
Electric Principle of Christianity," and the
valuable recipes of Heliobas ; and as I did
so, I caught sight of myself in the long
mirror that directly faced me. I was
fascinated, not by my own reflection, but
by the glitter of the electric gem I wore.
It flashed and glowed like a star, and
was really lovely — far more brilliant than
the most brilliant cluster of fine diamonds.
I may here remark that I have been asked
many questions concerning this curious
ornament whenever I have worn it In
public, and the general impression has
been that it Is some new arrangement of
electric light such as is manufactured for
the hair-pins and other ornaments recently
seen at Truefitt's in Bond Street. It is, how-
ever, nothing of the kind; it is simply a
clear pebble, common enough on the shores
of tropical countries which has the pro-
A STRUGGLE FOR THE MASTERY. 273
perty of absorbing a small portion of
the electricity in a human body, sufficient
to make it shine with prismatic and power-
ful lustre — a property which has only as
yet been discovered by Heliobas, who
asserts that the same capability exists in
many other apparently lustreless stones
which have been untried, and are therefore
unknown. The " healing stones," or amu-
lets, still in use in the East, and also
in the remote parts of the Highlands
(see notes to Archibald Clerk's translation
of Osszan), are also electric, but in a different
way — they have the property of absorbing
disease and destroying it in certain cases ;
and these, after being worn a suitable
length of time, naturally exhaust what
virtue they originally possessed, and are
no longer of any use. Stone amulets are
considered nowadays as a mere supersti-
tion of the vulgar and uneducated ; but
it must be remembered that superstition
itself has always had for its foundation
VOL. II. 3S
274 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
some grain, however small and remote, of
fact. I could give a very curious explana-
tion of the formation of orchids, those
strange plants called sometimes '* Freaks
of Nature," as if Nature ever indulged in
a *' freak " of any kind ! But I have
neither time nor space to enter upon the
subject now ; indeed, if I were once to
begin to describe the wonderful, amazing
and beautiful vistas of knowledge that the
wise Chaldean, who is still my friend and
guide, has opened up and continues to
extend before my admiring vision, a work
of twenty volumes would scarce contain
all I should have to say. But I have
written this book merely to tell those who
peruse it, about Heliobas, and what I my-
self experienced in his house ; beyond this
I may not go. For, as I observed in my
introduction, I am perfectly aware that
few, if any, of my readers will accept my
narrative as more than a mere visionary
romance — or that they will admit the
A STRUGGLE FOR THE MASTERY, 275
mysteries of life, death, eternity, and all the
wonders of the Universe to be simply the
natiL7^al and scientific outcome of a Ring of
Eve74asting Electricity ; but whether they
agree to it or no, I can say with Galileo,
** E pnr si vmove /"
;8— 2
CHAPTER VIII.
CONCLUSION.
)T was a very simple and quiet
procession that moved next day
from the Hotel Mars to Pere-
la-Chalse. Zara's coffin was carried In an
open hearse, and was covered with a pall of
rich white velvet on which lay a royal
profusion of flowers — Ivan's wreath, and a
magnificent cross of lilies sent by tender-
hearted Mrs. Challoner, being most con-
spicuous among them. The only thing a
little unusual about it was that the funeral
car was drawn by two stately white horses ;
and Heliobas told me this had been ordered
CONCLUSION. 277
at Zara's special request, as she thought
the solemn pacing through the streets
of dismal black steeds had a depressing
effect on the passers-by.
"And why," she had said, "should
anybody be sad, when / in reality am so
thoroughly happy ?"
Prince Ivan Petroffsky had left Paris,
but his carriage, drawn by two prancing
Russian horses, followed the hearse at a
respectful distance, as also the carriages of
Dr. Morini, and some other private persons
known to Heliobas. A few people at-
tended it on foot, and these were chiefly
from among the very poor, some of whom
had benefited by Zara's charity or her
brother's medical skill, and had heard of
the calamity through rumour, or through
the columns of the Figaro, where it was
reported with graphic brevity. The
weather was still misty, and the fiery sun
seemed to shine through tears as Father
Paul, with his assistants, read in solemn
278 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
yet cheerful tones the service for the dead
according to the Catholic ritual. One of
the chief mourners at the grave was the
faithful Leo ; who, without obtruding him-
self in anyone's way, sat at a little distance,
and seemed, by the confiding look with
which he turned his eyes upon his master,
to thoroughly understand that he must
henceforth devote his life entirely to him.
The coffin was lowered, the " Requiem
seternam " spoken — all was over. Those
assembled shook hands quietly with
Hellobas, saluted each other, and gradually
dispersed. I entered a carriage and drove
back to the Hotel Mars, leaving Hellobas
in the cemetery to give his final instruc-
tions for the ornamentation and decoration
of his sister's grave.
The little page served me with some
luncheon In my own apartment, and by the
time all was ready for my departure,
Hellobas returned. I went down to him
in his study, and found him sitting pen-
CONCLUSION. 279
sively in his armchair, absorbed in thought.
He looked sad and solitary, and my whole
heart went out to him in gratitude and
sympathy. I knelt beside him as a
daughter might have done, and softly
kissed his hand. He started as though
awakened suddenly from sleep, and see-
ing me, his eyes softened, and he smiled
gravely.
" Are you come to say ' Good-bye,' rny
child ?" he asked, in a kind tone. "Well,
your mission here is ended."
" Had I any mission at all," I replied,
with a grateful look, "save the very selfish
one which was comprised in the natural
desire to be restored to health ?"
Heliobas surveyed me for a few moments
in silence.
" Were I to tell you," he said at last,
" by what mystical authority and influence
you were compelled to come here, by what
a marvellously linked chain of circum-
stances you became known to me long
28o A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
before I saw you ; how I was made aware
that you were the only woman hving to
whose companionship I could trust my
sister at a time when the society of one of
her own sex became absolutely necessary
to her ; how you were marked out to me
as a small point of light by which possibly
I might steer my course clear of the dark-
ness which threatened me — I say, were I
to tell you all this, you would no longer
doubt the urgent need of your presence
here. It is, however, enough to tell you
that you have fulfilled all that was ex-
pected of you, even beyond my best hopes ;
and in return for your services, the worth
of which you cannot realize, whatever
guidance I can give you In the future for
your physical and spiritual life, is yours.
I have done something for you, but not
much — I will do more. Only, In com-
municating with me, I ask you to honour
me with your full confidence In all matters
pertaining to yourself and your surround-
CONCLUSION. 281
Inors — then I shall not be liable to errors of
judgment in the opinions I form or the
advice I give."
" I promise most readily," I replied
gladly, for it seemed to me that I was rich
in possessing as a friend and counsellor
such a man as this student of the loftiest
sciences.
'* And now, one thing more," he re-
sumed, opening a drawer in the table near
which he sat. '* Here is a pencil for you to
write your letters to me with. It will last
about ten years, and at the expiration of
that time you can have another. Write
with it on any paper, and the marks will be
like those of an ordinary drawing-pencil ; but
as fast as they are written they disappear.
Trouble not about this circumstance —
write all you have to say, and when you
have finished your letter your closely
covered pages shall seem blank. There-
fore, were the eye of a stranger to look at
them, nothing could be learned therefrom.
282 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
But when they reach me, I can make the
writing appear and stand out on these ap-
parently unsullied pages as distinctly as
though your words had been printed. My
letters to you will also, when you receive
them, appear blank ; but you will only
have to press them for about ten minutes
in this " — and he handed what looked like
an ordinary blotting-book — ''and they will
be perfectly legible. Cellini has these little
writing implements ; he uses them when-
ever the distances are too great for us to
amuse ourselves with the sagacity of Leo
■ — in fact, the journeys of that faithful
animal have principally been to keep him
in training."
" But," I said, as I took the litde pencil
and book from his hand, " why do you not
make these convenient writinof materials
public property ? They would be so
useful."
''Why should I build up a fortune for
some needy stationer ?" he asked, with a
CONCLUSION. 283
half-smile. " Besides, they are not new
things. They were known to the ancients,
and many secret letters, laws, histories, and
poems were written with instruments such
as these. In an old library, destroyed
more than two centuries ago, there was a
goodly pile of apparently blank parchment.
Had I lived then and known what I know
now, I could have made the white pages
declare their mystery."
'' Has this also to do with electricity ?" I
asked.
" Certainly — with what is called vege-
table electricity. There is not a plant or
herb in existence, but has almost a miracle
hidden away in its tiny cup or spreading
leaves — do you doubt it ?"
" Not I !" I answered quickly. " I
doubt nothing."
Heliobas smiled gravely.
" You are right !" he said. " Doubt is
the destroyer of beauty — the poison in the
sweet cup of existence — the curse which
284 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
mankind have brought on themselves.
Avoid it as you would the plague. Believe
in anything or everything miraculous and
glorious — the utmost reach of your faith
can with difficulty grasp the majestic
reality and perfection of everything you
can see, desire, or imagine. Mistrust that
volatile thing called Human Reason, which
Is merely a name for whatever opinion we
happen to adopt for the time — it is a thing
which totters on its throne in a fit of rage
or despair — there is nothing infinite about
it. Guide yourself by the delicate Spiritual
Instinct within you, which tells you that
with God all things are possible, save that
He cannot destroy Himself or lessen by
one spark the fiery brilliancy of His ever-
widening circle of productive Intelligence.
But make no attempt to convert the world
to your way of thinking — it would be mere
waste of time."
^' May I never try to Instruct anyone In
these things ?" I asked.
CONCLUSION. 285
*' You can try, If you choose ; but you
will find most human beings like the herd
of swine In the Gospel, possessed by devils
that drive them headlong Into the sea.
Vou know, for Instance, that angels and
aerial spirits actually exist ; but were you
to assert your belief In them, philosophers
(so-called) would scout your theories as
absurd, though their idea of a lo7te/y God,
who yet is Love, is the very acme of
absurdity. For Love 7mis^ have somewhat
to love, and 7m^s^ create the beauty and
happiness round itself and the things
beloved. But why point out these simple
things to those who have no desire to see ?
Be content, child, that yozi have been
deemed worthy of instruction — It is a
higher fate for you than if you had been
made a Queen."
The little page now entered, and told
me that the carriage was at the door in
waiting. As he disappeared again after
delivering this message, Heliobas rose
286 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
from his chair, and taking my two hands
in his, pressed them kindly.
"One word more, Httle friend, on the
subject of your career. I think the time
will come when you will feel that music is
almost too sacred a thing to be given away
for money to a careless and promiscuous
public. However this may be, remember
that scarce one of the self-styled ' artists '
who cater for the crowd deserves to be
Q'2i}A^di musician in the highest sense of the
word. Most of them seek not music, but
money and applause ; and therefore the
art they profess is degraded by them into
a mere trade. But you, when you play in
public, must forget that persons with little
vanities and lesser opinions exist. Think of
what you saw in your journey with Azul ;
and by a strong effort of your will, you
can, if you choose, ^^;;^/^/ certain harmonies
to sound in your ears — fragments of what
is common breathing air to the Children of
the Ring, some of whom you saw— and
CONCLUSION. 287
you will be able to reproduce them in part,
if not in entirety. But if you once admit
a thought of se// to enter your brain, those
aerial sounds will be silenced instantly.
By this means, too, you can judge who are
the true disciples of Music in this world —
those who, like Schubert and Chopin,
suffered the heaven-born melodies to
descend through them as though they
were mere condtccto7^s of sound ; or those
who, feebly imitating other composers,
measure out crotchets and quavers by rule
and line, and flood the world with inane
and perishable, and therefore useless, pro-
ductions. And now, — farewell !"
'' Do you remain in Paris ?" I asked.
" For a few days only. I shall go to
Egypt, and in travelling accustom myself
to the solitude in which I must dwell, now
Zara has left me."
*' You have Azul," I ventured to remark.
'* Ah ! but how often do I see her ?
Only when my soul for an instant is clear
A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
from all earthly and gross obstruction ; and
how seldom I can attain to this result
while weighted with my body ! But she
Is near me — ^/la^ I know — faithful as the
star to the mariner's compass !"
He raised his head as he spoke, and his
eyes flashed. Never had I seen him look
more noble or kingly. The Inspired radi-
ance of his face softened down Into his
usual expression of gentleness and courtesy,
and he said, offering me his arm :
" Let me see you to the carriage. You
know. It Is not an actual parting with us —
I Intend that we shall meet frequently.
For Instance, the next time we exchange
pleasant greetings will be In Italy."
I suppose I looked surprised ; I certainly
felt so, for nothing was further from my
thoughts than a visit to Italy.
Hellobas smiled, and said In a tone that
was almost gay :
" Shall I draw the picture for you ? I
see a fair city, deep embowered In hills
CONCLUSION. 289
and sheltered by olive-groves. Over it
beams a broad sky, deeply blue ; many soft
bells caress the summer air. Away in the
Cascine Woods a gay. party of people are
seated on the velvety moss ; they have
mandolines, and they sing for pure gaiety
of heart. One of them, a woman with fair
hair, arrayed in white, with a red rose at
her bosom, is gathering the wild flowers
that bloom around her, and weaving them
into posies for her companions. A stranger,
pacing slowly, book in hand, through the
shady avenue, sees her — her eyes meet his.
She springs up to greet him ; he takes
her hand. The woman is yourself; the
stranger no other than your poor friend,
who now, for a brief space, takes leave of
you 1"
So rapidly had he drawn up this picture,
that the impression made on me was as
though a sudden vision had been shown
to me in a magic glass. I looked at him
earnestly.
VOL. ir. 39
290 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
*' Then our next meeting will be happy ?"
I said inquiringly.
'* Of course. Why not ? And the
next — and the next after that also !" he
answered.
At this reply, so frankly given, I was
relieved, and accompanied him readily
through the hall towards the street-door.
Leo met us here, and intimated, as plainly
as a human being could have done, his
wish to bid me good-bye. I stooped and
kissed his broad head and patted him
affectionately, and was rewarded for these
attentions by seeing his plume-like tail
wave slowly to and fro — a sign of pleasure
the poor animal had not betrayed since
Zara's departure from the scene of her
earthly imprisonment.
At the door the pretty Greek boy handed
me a huge basket of the loveliest flowers.
^' The last from the conservatory," said
Heliobas. *' I shall need no more of these
luxuries."
CONCLUSION. 291
As I entered the carnage he placed
the flowers beside me, and again took my
hand.
*' Good-bye, my child !" he said, in
earnest and kindly tones. '* I have your
address, and will write you all my move-
ments. In any trouble, small or great, of
your own, send to me for advice without
hesitation. I can tell you already that I
foresee the time when you will resign
altogether the precarious and unsatisfactory
life of a mere professional musician. You
think no other career would be possible to
you. Well, you will see. A few months
will decide all. Good-bye again ; God
bless you !"
The carriage moved off, and Heliobas
stood on the steps of his mansion watching
it out of sight. To the last I saw his
stately figure erect in the light of the
winter sunshine — a figure destined from
henceforth to occupy a prominent position
in my life and memory. The regret I felt
39—2
292 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
at parting from him was greatly mitigated
by the assurance he gave me of our future
meeting, a promise which has since been
fulfilled, and is likely soon to be fulfilled
again. That I have such a friend is
an advantageous circumstance for me, for
through his guidance I am able to judge
accurately of many things occurring in
the course of the daily life around me —
things which, seemingly trivial, are the
hints of serious results to come, which
I am thus permitted in part to foresee.
There is a drawback, of course, and the
one bitter drop in the cup of knowledge is,
that the more I progress under the tuition
of Heliobas, the less am I deceived by
graceful appearances. I perceive with
almost cruel suddenness the true characters
of all those whom I meet. No smile
of lip or eye can delude me into accepting
mere surface-matter for real depth, and
it is intensely painful for me to be forced
to behold hypocrisy in the expression of
CONCLUSION, 293
the apparently devout — sensuality in the
face of some radiantly beautiful and
popular woman — vice under the mask
of virtue — self-interest in the guise of
friendship, and spite and malice springing
up like a poisonous undergrowth beneath
the words of elegant flattery or dainty
compliment. I often wish I could throw
a rose-coloured mist of illusion over all
these things, and still more earnestly do
I wish I could in a single instance find
myself mistaken. But alas ! the fatal
finger of the electric instinct within me
points out unerringly the flaw in every
human diamond, and writes " Sham " across
many a cunningly contrived imitation of
intelligence and goodness. Still, the grief
I feel at this is counterbalanced in part by
the joy with which I quickly recognise
real virtue, real nobility, real love ; and
when these attributes flash out upon me
from the faces of human beings, my own
soul warms, and I know I have seen a
294 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
vision as of angels. The capability of
Heliobas to foretell future events proved
itself In his knowledge of the fate of the
famous English hero, Gordon, long before
that brave soldier met his doom. At the
time the English Government sent him
out on his last fatal mission, a letter from
Heliobas to me contained the following
passage :
** I see Gordon has chosen his destiny
and the manner of his death. Two ways
of dying have been offered him — one that
is slow, painful and inglorious ; the other
sudden, and therefore sweeter to a man of
his temperament. He himself is perfecdy
aware of the approaching end of his
career; he will receive his release at
Khartoum. England will lament over him
for a little while, and then he will be
declared an inspired madman who rushed
recklessly on his own doom ; while those
who allowed him to be slain will be voted
CONCLUSION.
295
the wisest, the most just and virtuous in
the realm."
This prophecy was carried out to the
letter, as I fully believe certain things
of which I am now informed will also
be carried out. But though there are
persons who pin their faith on " Zadkiel,"
I doubt if there are any who will believe
in such a thing as electric divination.
The one is mere vulgar imposture, the
other is performed on a purely scientific
basis in accordance with certain existing
rules and principles ; yet I think there can
be no question as to which of the two the
public e7i masse is likely to prefer. On the
whole, people do not mind being hum-
bugged ; they hate being instructed, and
the trouble of thinking for themselves is
almost too much for them. Therefore
" Zadkiel " is certain to flourish for many
and many a long day, while the lightning
instinct of prophecy dormant in every
296 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
human being remains unused and utterly
forgotten except by the rare few.
I have little more to say. I feel that
those among my readers who idly turn
over these pages, expecting to find a
'^ novel'' in the true acceptation of the
term, may be disappointed. My narrative
IS simply an *' experience ;" but I have no
wish to persuade others of the central truth
contained in it — namely, ^/le existence of
powerful electric organs in every human
being, which with proper cttltivation are
capable of marvellous spiritual force. The
time is not yet ripe for this fact to be
accepted.
The persons connected with this story
may be dismissed in a few words. When
I joined my friend Mrs. Everard, she
was suffering from nervous hysteria. My
presence had the soothing effect Heliobas
had assured me of, and in a very few
CONCLUSION. 297
days we started from Paris in company for
England. She, with her amiable and
accomplished husband, went back to the
States a few months since to claim an
immense fortune, which they are now
enjoying as most Americans enjoy wealth.
Amy has diamonds to her heart's content,
and toilettes galore from Worth's ; but she
has no children, and from the tone of her
letters to me, 1 fancy she would part with
one at least of her valuable necklaces to
have a small pair of chubby arms round
her neck, and a soft little head nestling
against her bosom.
Raffaello Cellini still lives and works ;
his paintings are among the marvels of
modern Italy for their richness and warmth
of colour — colour which, in spite of his
envious detractors, is destined to last
through ages. He is not very rich, for
he is one of those who give away their
substance to the poor and the distressed ;
but where he is known he is universally
298 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
beloved. None of his pictures have yet
been exhibited In England, and he is In no
hurry to call upon the London critics for
their judgment. He has been asked
several times to sell his large picture,
** Lords of our Life and Death," but he
will not. I have never met him since our
Intercourse at Cannes, but I hear of him
frequently through Heliobas, who has
recently forwarded me a proof engraving
of the picture '' L'ImprovIsatrice," for
which I sat as model. It is a beautiful
work of art, but that it Is like 7ue I am
not vain enough to admit. I keep it, not
as a portrait of myself, but as a souvenir
of the man through whose introduction I
gained the best friend I have.
News of Prince Ivan Petroffsky reaches
me frequently. He Is the possessor of the
immense wealth foretold by Heliobas ;
the eyes of Society greedily follow his
movements ; his name figures conspicu-
ously In the " Fashionable Intelligence ;"
CONCLUSION. 299
and the magnificence of his recent marriage
festivities was for some time the talk of
the Continent. He has married the only
daughter of a French Duke — a lovely
creature, as soulless and heartless as a
dressmaker's stuffed model ; but she carries
his jewels well on her white bosom, and
receives his guests with as much dignity as
a well-trained major-domo. These quali-
ties suffice to satisfy her husband a^
present ; how long his satisfaction will last
is another matter. He has not quite for-
gotten Zara; for on every recurring y<9?/r
des Morts, or Feast of the Dead, he sends
a garland or cross of flowers to the
simple grave in Pere-la-Chalse. Heliobas
watches his career with untiring vigilance ;
nor can I myself avoid taking a certain
interest in the progress of his fate. At
the moment I write he is one of the most
envied and popular noblemen in all the
Royal Courts of Europe ; and no one
thinks of asking him whether he is happy.
300 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
He 7mis^ be happy, says the world ; he
has everything that is needed to make
him so. Everything ? yes — all except one
thing, for which he will long when the
shadow of the end draws near.
And now what else remains ? A brief
farewell to those who have perused this
narrative, or a lingering parting word ?
In these days of haste and scramble,
when there is no time for faith, is there
time for sentiment ? I think not. And
therefore there shall be none between my
readers and me, save this — a friendly warn-
ing. Belief — belief in God — belief in all
things noble, unworldly, lofty, and beautiful,
is rapidly being crushed underfoot by —
what ? By mere lust of gain ! Be sure,
good people, be very sure that you are
rzo-/i^ in denying God for the sake of man
— in abjuring the spiritual for the material
— before you rush recklessly onward. The
end for all of you can be but death ; and are
you quite positive after all that there is no
CONCLUSION. 301
Hereafter ? Is it sense to imagine that the
immense machinery of the Universe has
been set In motion for nothing ? Is It even
common reason to consider that the Soul
of Man, with all its high musings, its dreams
of unseen glory, Its longings after the
Infinite, Is a mere useless vapour, or a set
of shifting molecules in a perishable brain ?
The mere fact of ^/le existence of a desire
clearly indicates an eqtially existing capacity
for the gratification of that desire ; there-
fore, I ask, would the wish for a future state
of being, which Is secretly felt by every one
of us, have been permitted to find a place
in our natures, if there were no possible
means of granting it ? Why all this dis-
content with the present — why all this
universal complaint and despair and world-
weariness, if there be no hereafter ? For
my own part, I have told you frankly what
I have seen and what I know ; but I do not
ask you to believe me. I only say, if — if
you admit to yourselves the possibility of a
302 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
future and eternal state of existence, would
it not be well for you to inquire seriously
how you are preparing for it in these wild
days ? Look at society around you, and
ask yourselves : Whither is our '' Proo-ress "
tending — Forward or Backward — Upward
or Downward ? Which way ? Fight the
problem out. Do not glance at it casually,
or put it away as an unpleasant thought, or
a consideration involving too much trouble
— struggle with it bravely till you resolve
it, and whatever the answer may be, adide
by it. If it leads you to deny God and the
immortal destinies of your own souls, and you
find hereafter, when it is too late, that both
God and immortality exist, you have only
yourselves to blame. We are the arbiters
of our own fate, and that fact is the most
important one of our lives. Our will is
positively unfettered ; it is a rudder put
freely into our hands, and with it we can
steer wherever we choose. God will not
compel our love or obedience. We must
CONCLUSIOX.
3^3
ourselves desire to love and obey — desire it
above all tJmigs in the world.
As for the Electric Origin of the Uni-
verse, a time is coming when scientific men
will acknowledge It to be the only theory
of Creation worthy of acceptance. All the
wonders of Nature are the result of licrht
and heat alone — i.e., are the work of the
Electric Ring I have endeavoured to de-
scribe, which must go on producing, ab-
sorbing, and reproducing worlds, suns, and
systems for ever and ever. The Ring, in
its turn, is merely the outcome of God's
own personality — the atmosphere surround-
ing the World in which He has His exist-
ence— a World created by love and for love
alone. I cannot force this theory on public
attention, which Is at present claimed by
various learned professors, who give In-
genious explanations of *' atoms " and
" molecules ;" yet, even regarding these
same "atoms," the mild question may be
put: Where did the first ''atom'' come
304 A ROMANCE OF TWO WORLDS.
from ? Some may answer : '' We call the
first atom GodJ' Surely it Is as well to
call Him a Spirit of pure Light as an
Atom ? However, the fact of one person's
being convinced of a truth will not, I am
aware, go very far to convince others. I
have related my " experience " exactly as
It happened at the time, and my readers
can accept or deny the theories of Heliobas
as they please. Neither denial, acceptance,
criticism, nor Incredulity can affect 77ie
personally, inasmuch as I am not Heliobas,
but simply the narrator of an episode
connected with him ; and as such, my task
is finished.
THE END.
BXl-lNS A SONS, PRINTERS, GUILDFORD.
6-. &'//.
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